The Anecdotes
by sunaprincess7
Summary: "Life is something to do when you can't get to sleep." The moments in Shikamaru's life when he is not asleep. Drabbles
1. She's Always a Woman to me

Hello everyone,

well, if you've been reading my profile then you'll be expecting this! For those who haven't, this is going to be my collection of drabbles for shikatema. I genuinely enjoy writing long oneshots but they take forever to construct and edit and I'd like to be able to just post little things whenever they pop into my head. Thus; The Anecdotes.

The other part of this project is that I'm taking requests for what people would like to see written about- for more details please see my profile.

Anyways, a quiet warning that these will not be generally very intellectual or by any means my best work, but I would love some reviews. Its always encouraging and really does help me to write more.

I've written about four so far and am currently working some wonderful requests by _mylonelyshadow_ into drabbles.

Thanks for reading and reviewing :)

SP7

* * *

Inspiration; _She's always a woman to me_, by Billy Joel

* * *

He forgets sometimes that she had no mother growing up.

That's why he says insensitive things about his own around her. Really he should be smart enough to know by now that she finds the way his mother fusses endearing.

The way she still delivers food to his door never fails to bring a small wistful smile to her face.

When his mother drops in unannounced with his clothes freshly ironed and pressed, Temari always thanks her whilst he rolls his eyes.

He tries not to think about how hard it must have been on her...surrounded by men, the only girl of her generation. No one to guide her. He ignores those thoughts when they creep into his head, but she is awfully good of reminding him. So is Ino.

_She can kill with a smile, She can wound with her eyes_

When she shows him photos of her childhood...

He sees her training. Her Fighting.

Her wounds. Her scars.

Her victories.

He resists the urge to physically hurt Ino when she enquires why Temari doesn't know how to conduct a proper tea ceremony. Why she can fight with fans but not dance with them.

Why the flowers she buys always lie wild and unarranged- no form or order to them.

_She can ruin your faith with her casual lies_

There is little he can do to protect her from these remarks. He sees her eyes harden over and she never says anything...only allows a small, forced smile to grace her lips. He hates that look- it says she has no answer to give. And Temari always has something to say.

_And she only reveals what she wants you to see_

Yet it is because she wishes she could act like a woman- in Ino's sense of the word. She wishes her fans were for decoration sometimes instead of for war. She wishes that when Kurenai invites her for tea, she could say yes, but doesn't, for fear of embarrassing herself.

It is a testament to his own mother's affection for Temari that she offers to teach her all of those things that she wishes for.

_She hides like a child_

It is a testament to Temari's stubbornness and pride that she turns her down every time.

That is why, when a small 'you're holding him wrong' escapes Temari's lips as the baby in Ino's arms squirms unhappily, Shikamaru's eyebrows leap up...as do Ino's.

"What?" his friend bites back, clearly uncomfortable with the wriggling, red-faced child.

"You're hurting him," Temari replies firmly, striding over to Ino and acquiring the baby with an ease that only experience knows.

She cradles him gently against her chest, lulling the child into quietness, gazing down on him with a tenderness that leaps immediately to Shikamaru's heart.

It is only then, whilst looking at this picture of devotedness, does Shikamaru realise what she wants. And it is not tea ceremonies or fan dances or flower arrangements.

It is there in her hands.

_But she's always a woman to me _


	2. World Cup Suna v Konoha

Inspired by; World Cup & Rama-chan's_ Ninja World Cup_ picture.

* * *

She shrieks happily and begins moving towards him.

He's been watching her from his place behind the bar all night. She's quite a sight to see, jumping up and down in joy or rage at something the team on the television does; her tee-shirt proudly emblazoned with the Suna emblem.

He wants Konoha to win- because that's where they are, that's where he's from and really, they're a much better team than their opponents.

They're not going to win the whole tournament but still...better than Suna.

"Three beers, please," she breathes, slamming the money down onto the bench, her cheeks flushed from exertion and excitement.

He begins opening the bottles, smirking as the crowd behind her roars and she jumps and looks around to see if she's missed something.

"They're not going to win you know," he says casually, before he can help himself.

Suddenly her eyes are on him, glaring harshly at him, daring him to provoke her.

"Pfft..." she snorts derisively. "We're one nil up," she adds, as if that ends the matter.

"Fluke," he replies briefly, his stomach twisting pleasurably as her eyes ignite.

"Please! The guy duped three defenders..."

"It's a bad pitch...you'll never hold that lead," he says wisely, placing the open bottles onto the bar.

Her mouth is hanging open in outrage.

He cuts across her before she can speak.

"If Suna win, the next beer's on me," he states, leaning forward on his elbows, catching a fleeting hint of some hot Sunan perfume on her tanned skin.

Grabbing the bottles she nods smugly, before sashaying back to her group. He watches her hips as she goes.

She next appears at half time, although his eyes haven't wandered.

"Two nil," she says triumphantly, now leaning against the mahogany.

"It's only half time," he drones, cleaning the glass in his hands a bit more vigorously for some reason.

Letting out a laugh that makes him smile, she places more money on the counter.

"Same again...although, I don't know why I'm bothering. You should really just give in and pay for this round."

"If that team win, I'll buy the next two," he counters, never one to back down from a challenge.

"Heh...if Suna _don't _win, I'll leave a tip next time," she says cattily, the smirk carrying all the way onto his own face.

"Three rounds," Shikamaru raises, now leaning forward himself to mimic her position.

"Double tip."

"If Suna win...I'll take you to dinner..."

She raises an elegant eyebrow, her cheeks flushing once more and this time Shikamaru hopes it's not just from the humidity.

"If they don't win," she begins gracefully, "you'll take _me_ home."

He finally gets her to admit that Konoha is the better team the next morning as she is wandering around his apartment in his team jersey.

* * *

2nd Anecdote up. See what I mean about updating faster! Not my favourite of all the ones I've written so far, but the World Cup final is on this weekend so I had to put it out quickly! Plus I really like the idea of Shikamaru as a bartender- I think it fits his lazy persona.

Thanks to all who reviewed and thanks to_ LishaVilla _for her suggestions!- I'm working as we speak :)

Please do me the honour of reviewing again- all the last ones from the chapter made me soooooo happy!

Thanks :),

SP7


	3. The Pit, Part I

Alright, so I know this is _just_ over 1000 words, but I'm still counting this as a drabble!

On an authors note, I am excited because for about the 1st time in six months I've thought about _Slave_! Yay! lol- I'm actually finding myself quite intent upon finishing it- I just have to get back into the grove of it!

Secondly, I'm now on livejournal! I've mostly just been using it to stalk writers who I'm waiting for updates from but I'm considering using it for my own authors updates instead of my fanfic page- keep it less cluttered and whatnot. So, if you'd prefer to see updates on livejournal please add me as a friend and I'll judge by the amount of people who add me what to do!

My address can be found on my profile :)

* * *

Inspired by; LishaVilla who sent in a request to see a drabble with Shikamaru and the Sand brothers. Of all the scenarios she suggested, I chose off on a mission together. The request was brilliant and really detailed. Hope you like it!

* * *

Shikamaru reckoned that most people would say that there was nothing..._nothing _as bad as being trapped down a giant pit with a sadistic maniac and an emotionless psychopath.

The above, in most people's mind, might be just mildly topped by being trapped down a giant pit with a sadistic maniac and an emotionless psychopath who just happened to be your girlfriend's brothers.

Although, that statement, in itself, might be outdone by being trapped down a giant pit with a sadistic maniac and an emotionless psychopath who just happened to be your _ex_-girlfriend's brothers.

However, in Shikamaru's _personal_ opinion, all of the aforementioned circumstances were undoubtedly eclipsed by being trapped down a giant pit with a sadistic maniac and an emotionless psychopath who just happened to be the brothers of the girl who you had just confessed your undying love to before she had cruelly rejected you and then beaten you around the head before running back off to the ungodly land that had spawned her.

Shikamaru also reckoned that most people would suggest that being caught in any of the above situations, unpleasant as they may be, was actually very unlikely.

But then, most people did not live Shikamaru's life.

"You do realise that this is all your fault," the sadistic maniac otherwise known as Kankuro bit out from the opposite side of the pit, glaring at him steadily.

Choosing to say nothing for fear of being maimed and suffocated, Shikamaru merely rolled his eyes and looked the other way. He also chose not to remind Kankuro that it was actually the fault of the moron who had dug a fifteen foot pit in the middle of nowhere that they were incapacitated.

"Oi! Don't you ignore me, Nara," Kankuro hissed, poking him roughly with his foot.

"I'm not ignoring you, I'm merely opting to be ignorant of your existence," Shikamaru replied sarcastically. Possibly not the smartest thing to do given the situation but he was in no mood to humour anyone. The pit was awfully damp.

"Twat," was the intelligent response.

Gaara, in a unnerving yet characteristic move had not spoken since they'd fallen in, instead preferring to regard both of his companions with a mixture of interest and exasperation.

They sat in silence for at least another hour as Shikamaru watched the sky darken and the stars come out.

"So," Kankuro spoke finally, "while I've got you here..."

Shikamaru didn't bother to point out that it was actually bandits that had him here but...

"What's the deal with you and Temari?"

Sighing deeply, Shikamaru closed his eyes and tried to that pretend he was somewhere else with pants that were still waterless.

Another kick to his leg.

"Nara!"

He wasn't getting out of this one...both literally and figuratively.

"There is 'no deal' between me and your sister..."

"Oh, really?" Kankuro exclaimed loudly. "Then why has she spent the last two weeks moping around her room like one of those stupid kunoichi from your village?"

"I have no idea," he droned back, shutting his eyes once more.

"I heard it's because you have a girlfriend," the puppeteer accused.

"So what if I have?" Shikamaru retorted icily, pushing all memories of a certain Sand nin out of his head. "Why should she care?"

"You really are a twat, you know that?"

"Undoubtedly..."

"So, who is she?" Kankuro questioned annoyingly.

"If it's none of Temari's business, then it is definitely none of yours..."

"It is my fucking business if you're breaking my sister's heart over this bitch," Kankuro responded crudely, kicking Shikamaru once more. "Who the hell is she?"

"It doesn't matter, you wouldn't know her anyways," Shikamaru conceded with a sigh, for once kicking Kankuro back.

His movements unfortunately meant that a kicking contest ensued between himself and the puppet wielder, which was only interrupted when Gaara coughed loudly.

"Well, whoever she is, there is no way you're choosing her over Temari!" Kankuro threatened; his eyes still on him. "I will not have my sister _mope_..."

Biting his tongue, instead of yelling like he wanted to, Shikamaru yawned in an effort to appear nonchalant.

Just as Kankuro was about to start yelling for his lack of concern, Gaara spoke.

"My sister likes you a great deal," he said steadily, and Shikamaru could sense the ominous tone.

Shikamaru scoffed.

"Sure she does."

"How do you feel about Temari?"

Everything.

Love. Annoyance. Bitterness. Passion.

Hurt.

"She's alright."

This time it was Kankuro who scoffed.

"You sure do stare a lot for someone who only thinks she's _alright_," he jested harshly.

"My sister is very...difficult," Gaara put in oddly, fixing his eyes on Shikamaru. "And slightly evasive. It might be an idea to tell her how you feel."

Unable to take it anymore, Shikamaru punched the ground dully.

"I did," he gritted quietly, studying his knees. "I told her. She said no. End of."

For some reason, Gaara and Kankuro were exchanging a number of cryptic looks.

"A lot of people come into our lives and then disappear for no reason, Nara," Gaara stated dryly. "We, including my sister, try to stop unnecessary feeling for those who are apt to...disappear."

Unable to see where he was going with all of this what with the tiredness in his eyes, the hunger in his stomach and the ache in his heart, Shikamaru did not reply, instead electing to sulk.

"We try to only attach ourselves to those who aren't going to leave."

When Shikamaru remained silent, Kankuro sighed, sounding hassled.

"IN OTHER WORDS," he yelled moronically, "my sister loves you, you idiot! She has for about three years now! She was just trying to make sure that you weren't messing her around, you prat! Testing you to see that you were going to stick around and not fuck her over."

Finally interested, Shikamaru felt his heart leap into his mouth.

"You mean..."

"We mean, Temari cares about you very much. She was just trying to make sure you were genuine," Gaara said calmly, looking at him like he was an idiot.

"And, since the first thing you did when she said no was run out and shag the first whore you found, clearly, _you failed," _Kankuro jeered.

Well, shit.

* * *

Part two coming up soon!

Temari comes to the rescue!

**REVIEW!**

SP7 :)


	4. The Pit, Part II

Inspired by; LishaVilla suggestion.

* * *

She appeared loudly.

Fan whirling, voice screeching, wind blowing fiercely all around her.

She bore down on them ominously, the moonlight illuminating her curvy silhouette and he had to remind himself that she had said no.

Without so much as an audible word, she summoned kamatari who deftly swept downwards, carving out a diagonal path for them with his sickle.

They scrambled upwards gracelessly, all except for Gaara who proceeded to glide.

Shikamaru shuddered.

She looked very much like she wanted to kick him back into the pit.

"What sort of ninja are you?" she bit out to them all, although she was looking at him. She afforded her brothers one more glare before sheathing her fan, turning on her heel and stomping in the other direction.

Giving him a knowing look, Kankuro simply shrugged his shoulders and moved after her begrudgingly.

He and Gaara followed behind slowly as Shikamaru tried not to think about her and this whole mess.

If she really loved him, as her brothers had said, then why had she said no? Why had she given him a look that said he meant no more to her than the average insect?

He didn't understand women. He didn't understand shrews that played games with his heart and then expected him to come traipsing after them. He didn't understand why he was in love...

His train of thought was cut off as Temari let out an almighty screech.

"No!" she yelled, turning back and striding towards him.

"What the..." he began, but was abruptly interrupted as she grasped him by the collar and dragged him backwards.

"Temari, what are you doing?" came Gaara's wry voice in the distance.

Shikamaru was powerless to protest anymore as he was dumped unceremoniously back into the pit, unable to see anything but her.

"Your girlfriend came come get you out," she hissed, before dumping the old soil back down on top of him and flouncing off.

Coughing and spluttering and thoroughly pissed off, Shikamaru kicked away the excess dirt and piled upwards through the original path.

"Hey!" he yelled after her, still unable to breath properly without inhaling mud. "Woman!"

Seeing that he was out of his predicament, Temari growled angrily and moved back towards him quickly. Observing that she was about to attempt to grasp him by the neck again, Shikamaru got there first; his own arm shot out and grasped hers before spinning her and deftly but roughly pinioning her against the nearest tree.

"What the hell is your problem?" he bit out, an inch from her face.

"My problem?" she raged struggling to get free. "MY problem?"

"As far as I can see you've both got problems," Gaara remarked dryly, as Shikamaru ignored the irony of a psychopath giving him a mental assessment.

"You're a right bastard, you know that?" she spat angrily, kicking at his shins.

Letting out a bark of laughter, Shikamaru pinned her harder, his nails digging into her forearms.

"Says the bitch."

"Careful," Kankuro warned lowly from a distance, leaning against a tree.

His head aching, his back tensing and his knees smarting, Shikamaru broke.

He'd had enough.

He let go of her arms and began walking towards the exit of the forest.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" she screeched, striding after him.

"Away from you."

"Oh well, isn't that bloody typical! Fucking _classic_ Shikamaru! Walk away when things get awkward."

He laughed again, still walking in the opposite direction.

"If this is what you call awkward, then you're more messed up than I thought."

"Maybe so, but it's true, isn't it?" she barked back, her voice inadvertently laced with emotion. "As soon as things get difficult you bolt the opposite way..."

"No, when things get difficult I just move away from you. You're the only thing that makes my life difficult," he deadpanned, still moving.

"...like that time you kissed me outside of Ichiraku's..." she continued on over him.

"You kissed her?" Kankuro gritted.

"...and when you 'accidentally' held my hand on that mission..."

Shikamaru ignored Kankuro's coughing fit.

"...or when you introduced me to your mother as your girlfriend..."

Deciding he could walk no more, Shikamaru turned to defend himself but was stopped by the look on her face.

"All those times you said nothing happened...you said you didn't mean it, or you'd slipped or you'd made a mistake," Temari said forcefully, her eyes fixed on his. "It was always a mistake. You've been messing me around for the past three years, Shikamaru. Why should this time be any different?"

Sighing in defeat, Shikamaru scratched the back of his neck.

"It just was," he replied dumbly. "I was ready this time."

She scoffed quietly, before looking down at her hands.

He watched her for a while.

The quiet unease. The darting eyes and bitten lips. The nervousness of hurt that only comes from...

He was struck by the most obvious revelation in the whole world.

She was in love with him.

How had he not seen it before?

"I'm sorry," he added, feeling remarkably stupid whilst marking Gaara's superior expression. "I never meant to hurt you."

She nodded silently, still not looking at him.

"There is no girl," he forced out, as she finally looked up in surprise.

"What?"

"Well...there is," Shikamaru went on oddly uncomfortably under her brothers gazes. "But it's you. My mother told Ino that I had a girlfriend...and she kind of told everyone."

They all stood there, staring at him. Temari looked dumbstruck, whilst Kankuro glared at him open-mouthed. Gaara was actually smiling.

"Why do I like you?" she breathed disbelievingly.

"Peh. You love me," he scoffed back.

She opened her mouth to object, before he cut her off.

"You're a terrible liar, woman. Don't even try."

Red cheeked and indignant, Temari huffed and stalked off in front of him, as he ran after her. A thing he would probably be doing for the rest of his life.

* * *

Sighing happily, Kankuro watched as the two biggest idiots he knew desperately tried to link hands.

"Well, what do we do now, Gaara?"

"We write to Yoshino-san and tell her, her plan worked."

Kankuro choked.

"WHAT? You mean this was all set up?"

Gaara smirked silently.

"YOU HAD ME IN THAT PIT FOR TEN HOURS!"

"Matters of the heart take time, brother."

"TEN HOURS, GAARA!"

"That's Lord Kazekage, _brother_."

"Eh heh...yes."

* * *

Ok, so I'm still getting used to this 'not doing much description' bit- I must admit it's very hard for me. But I hope this came out ok!

Thanks again to LishaVilla for her suggestions for the ending and I shall be updating this soon.

On another note, I've started work on a long, period piece that started out as an Anecdote but was then just too interesting not to fully expand! So I'm quite excited- look out for it! Hopefully it won't be too much longer.

**REVIEW!**

SP7


	5. Worry

Set; when Shikamaru leaves to fight Hidan.

Inspired by; _mylonelyshadow _request; Temari spends the day with either Shikamaru's mother or father.

* * *

"You're much better at this than Shikamaru makes out."

Temari looked up from her place at the opposite end of the shougi board. Had she been realistically picking where she would have been spending her weekend it would not have been sitting at opposite ends of a shougi board with Shikaku Nara.

She looked down to see where the elderly Nara had moved his latest piece to.

"The day that boy gives me a compliment; the world will implode."

A dry chuckle greeted her.

"How long now?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably.

"About three hours, I'd say."

"Is that all?" Temari gritted, wishing that time would pass faster.

"Getting there and back won't be the longest part. If anything I'd say the fights already started," Shikaku droned, moving another piece, although she could see the faint worry lines on his face.

Thank God she wasn't the only one.

"He will come back, Temari."

She didn't bother to answer.

She moved another piece and tried to act as though the only thing she was interested in was the board. In reality her mind was miles away.

"Do you and Shikamaru play often?" she asked him, attempting to keep the conversation light.

"When we get the time," Shikaku answered simply. "It's been a bit hectic recently. He might not want to play anymore after this."

"Will you stop bringing it up!" she spat, glaring at him only to be greeted by the same infuriating smirk that the son always gave her.

"Why do you pretend you're only here for diplomacy? You want someone to talk to. Here I am," he added with quiet brilliance seeing right through her facade; exactly like his only son.

She sighed.

"Statistically, he's already dead," she began quickly, trying to crack a shougi piece in half with her thumb and forefinger. "I mean, the odds were hugely against him even before he put a foot out of Konoha but with all this emotion he's carrying around? Tell me, Shikaku, what are the survival rates for missions of passion?"

"They're the lowest around."

"Exactly! And yet he runs off as if he has a hope in hell. There are _two_ Akatsuki out there and he's harbouring blood rage against both of them. He's never going to keep a cool head. Never!"

She succeeded in snapping the piece in half as Shikaku watched her work herself into a frenzy with a half-interested look.

"Why am I even here?" Temari bit out suddenly, crushing the piece in her hand. "He's as good as dead. What am I waiting for? For his body to be brought back? I should just go."

She stood up, fully ready to leave. But then she made the mistake of looking down, towards a pineapple head that she wished was his and not his father's.

What if he died?

What if that immortal snapped him in half like she did with the shougi piece and she never saw him again?

She sagged against the wall.

"I have a plan," Shikaku said suddenly, standing up and leaning against the wall to light a cigarette. "You stay here the night and when he comes home you can have the honour of killing him for making me, you and his mother worry so much. Not to mention dragging his two best friends off on an impossible mission with him as well. Sound good?"

She knew he was trying to be light-hearted but couldn't share in the sentiment; not having pictured him dead already.

Shikaku entered the house and she followed silently as he led her upstairs to a room.

"You can sleep here," he said quietly, as she wondered why he had given her the messiest room in the house.

Then she saw the shougi board and the strew books and the unused bed sheets and she realised it was his room.

"You see now why he had to go, Temari. He was killing himself here all by his own doing. I can't remember the last time he slept a full night's sleep."

They walked into the room, and he helped her straighten it out a bit.

She saw a box of photos thrown carelessly across the floor; one with him and Asuma, another with the whole team. They were wrinkled and creased.

"That's funny," Shikaku intoned, picking up the box and rifling through the photos. "There used to be one of you in here."

She gave him a sharp look.

That wasn't funny.

"He must have taken it with him."

"I already told you, it's not like that," she said harshly, grabbing the box back from his hands and closing it soundly.

"Shikamaru will be very sorry to hear that," Shikaku replied quietly, before exiting the room.

* * *

She couldn't sleep that night, so she tossed and turned and stuffed her hands underneath the pillows only to retrieve a photo of her, beaming up at the camera with that idiotic smile she couldn't help but use when only he was around.

_Please, don't let him die. _

"Oi, woman. What are you doing in my bed?"

* * *

For some reason there is just NOT enough fanfiction out there with Shikaku/Temari interaction so this little piece came about.

Thanks to _mylonelyshadow_ for her wonderful suggestions; I doubt this will be the only one I use.

**REVIEW!**

SP7


	6. Don't Stand So Close to Me

Set; AU

Inspired by; numerous things including several Harry Potter fanfictions, most notably _Every Other Midnight_. A disturbing Yahoo question from a pregnant teenage girl who was having an affair with her tutor and my cousin forcing me to listen to 'Don't Stand so Close to me"- the Glee Version.

* * *

A loud pop echoed in Temari's ears, as Sakura uncorked a bottle of white wine.

"Well, come on then," came the pink-haired girl's voice. "What's wrong? You never invite us round here."

Rolling her eyes, Temari accepted the glass from her place on the floor.

"Don't roll your eyes, missy!" Ino jeered playfully, taking her own glass. "She's only telling the truth. I can't remember the last time we were in your apartment."

Temari supposed that was true; a Friday night pizza in with the girls hadn't exactly been on the top of her priorities list recently.

"Give her a break," Tenten interjected, flicking her long hair over her shoulder as she reclined on the couch. "But they are right, Tem. Something's wrong. It's written all over your face."

Setting down her glass onto the coffee table, Temari sighed and tried to think about the best way of phrasing this.

"You remember that kid I was telling you about..." she began hesitantly.

"The really hot one with all the muscles?" Ino sang, suddenly very interested.

Temari nodded reluctantly.

"This should be good," Sakura said, nudging Hinata happily.

"Good or career ending," Tenten put in, fixing her gaze to Temari with a raised eyebrow. "The kid might be hot and have a lot of muscles but he's still her _student_."

"Thank you for reminding me," Temari replied dryly, taking a big sip of her wine. "Anyways...you know how I tutor him in math..."

All the girls nodded their heads.

"Well today...after the session...he kissed me."

An abrupt silence followed before Ino started shrieking, Tenten's mouth fell open, Sakura smiled in glee whilst Hinata dropped her wine glass and immediately started apologising.

"You see, this is why I don't invite you guys over," she hissed, throwing a towel at Hinata and thanking God that it was only white wine.

"He _kissed_ you," Tenten repeated, sounding repulsed.

Temari nodded bleakly.

"We'd just finished and he had had a test that Monday that he'd passed for once," she informed the stunned group, turning her wine glass in her hands. "He said he had a present for me as a thank you."

"And?" Ino gossiped shamelessly, sinking onto the floor to face her friend.

"And then he just grabbed me and kissed me," Temari stated, hoping to keep the sincere desperation out of her voice.

"Was he any good?" Sakura asked secretively, her eyes dancing.

"Like that matters!" Tenten spat before Temari could answer. "He's her student for God's sake! He's _eighteen_! She could lose her job over this."

"Let's put the facts in perspective," Ino cut in loudly, holding her hands up to calm the women. "He's eighteen; therefore he's legal," she said simply, before shushing Tenten, who had attempted to start yelling again. "He's only three years younger than Tem _and_ he'll be graduating in six months."

"I fail to see how that has any relevance!"

Ino was about to snap back but was stopped by a quiet voice.

"Do you like him, Temari?" Hinata asked tentatively.

"Of course she doesn't," Tenten answered.

"Eh..._yes_, she does!" Ino responded.

"We've all heard about the muscles," Sakura put in, winking at Temari.

Sighing softly, Hinata tried again.

"Do you think he likes you?"

"He's a horny teenage boy. He's only doing it so he can brag to his mates about shagging his teacher!" Tenten reasoned, glaring at said teacher.

"We can all admit that the clothes Temari wears to work would hardly discourage any man," Ino stated blithely, as Temari's mouth fell open.

"I dress perfectly fine! All my necklines are high and my skirts cover my knee!"

"That doesn't mean you still can't see your assets, my dear," Tenten gritted. "Those clothes aren't exactly loose fitting."

Choosing to ignore her ex-friends, Temari turned to Hinata.

"I have no idea how he feels," she replied tiredly. "But..."

"But what?" Ino questioned excitedly.

"I think he's been faking his tests."

"How do you mean?" Sakura enquired, sounding confused.

"I checked his report card after it happened," Temari explained, trying to sooth her brain. "He's gotten full marks in every class this year. And all the years before. He's smart. I mean _really _smart."

"So he only started failing math when you joined the school?" came Hinata's voice.

Temari nodded.

"That's it. He's in love!" Ino declared happily, topping up everyone's wine.

"Or Tem's just a really shit teacher. Maybe if she didn't spend so much time kissing her students..." Tenten suggested sarcastically, accepting the extra wine gratefully.

"He kissed me!" Temari hissed in outrage.

"Did you stop him?" the brunette asked definitively.

"I..." Temari began, before trying again. "Well...it wasn't...I mean he..."

"Ha!"

"You luuurrrveeee him!" Ino pressed, giggling with Sakura.

"I pushed him off!"

"Eventually," came the dry response from Hinata of all people.

"I hate you all!" Temari murmured, throwing her head into her hands, as a knock echoed throughout her apartment.

"Oh cheer up!" Ino said cheerfully, moving towards the hallway. "Pizza's here. You know pizza always cheers you up!"

Temari continued to glare at her friends as Ino came skipping back into the living room.

"The pizza guy was hot so I invited him in," she giggled quietly, before moving to the kitchen to get her purse. "How much did you say it was again?" she called.

"Eh...25.25."

Temari dropped her own wine.

"Shikamaru?" she breathed, staring at the culprit student who was currently standing in her living room.

"Tem...I mean Miss Sabaku," the boy answered, before swallowing; sounding just as shocked as her.

Temari felt her stomach turn.

Why oh _why_ did she have to be wearing a white tank top with a black bra and the shortest pair of green shorts she owned?

"You two know each other?" Tenten asked suspiciously.

Temari nodded, feeling very nauseous.

"Oh. My. God." Sakura muttered, her eyes darting between the two of them. "Is this..."

"Muscle boy?" Ino finished gleefully, as Temari tried to stop herself from crying.

"You did not just say that," she whimpered into her knees.

"Miss Sabaku tutors me in math," Shikamaru said awkwardly, and she could tell his eyes were still on her.

Sakura let out a belt of laughter.

"Well, we better be going!" Ino said suddenly, grabbing her coat and Hinata by the arm. "Busy day tomorrow. _Come on!" _she hissed to the others.

Sighing deeply, Tenten rolled her eyes and stood.

"Put some clothes on, woman," she bit at Temari, who shrank back. "You'll give him a heart attack."

The gaggle of girls exited her apartment quickly, each saying goodbye to Shikamaru except for Tenten.

"They seem nice," Shikamaru said quietly, as the door closed.

She nodded.

"So, you want some?" he offered, throwing open the pizza box to her.

Temari took it from him slowly, her eyes wide as he settled himself on her couch.

"What are you doing?" she asked incredulously, still holding the pizza oddly.

"There's a good hockey game on," he answered, flicking on her television as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Don't you have to work?" Temari persisted, her voice rising in pitch.

Shikamaru shrugged.

"They won't miss me."

He reached for a slice and she jerked away.

"Listen... I don't know what you...I mean you're my...and I can't...could _never_..."

Shikamaru sighed and muted the TV before turning to face her.

"Look, we're both adults, right?"

Temari nodded suspiciously.

"So it's perfectly okay if we hang out together as friends?"

Temari's brow creased.

"Friends?"

"Yeah, friends," he said easily. "Friends who share pizza on a Friday night. Maybe go out to dinner on a Saturday night. Spend Sunday lying in bed..."

"Friends don't do that," she interjected sharply, grabbing the box once more as he tried again for a slice.

"I didn't say the _same_ bed," Shikamaru stated, grinning at her haughtily.

Resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at him, Temari took out a slice and ate it; watching him closely.

"Let me take you out to dinner tomorrow night," he went on softly, the grin now a smile. "You look stressed." She rolled her eyes. "I hear there's some kid with muscles giving you a lot of trouble at school."

She flung the pizza box at him as he laughed heartily.

"We can go eat...as friends...and you can tell me what you think about this boy."

"He's a pain in the backside," she spat, glaring at him. "He fails his tests on purpose! How stupid is that?"

"Maybe it's not on purpose?" Shikamaru replied quietly, rearranging his shirt. "Maybe he just has a really hard time concentrating when you're in front of him."

Temari rolled her eyes. Half-heartedly though.

"So we go to dinner...as friends?"

He nodded, smiling slightly.

"And that's it."

"Well, you know, I have lots of friends who kiss just for fun..."

"No! I draw the line at kissing. No kissing until you graduate," she rambled on, only alerted to her mistake by the beaming grin he was wearing.

"I can wait," he said simply, picking out a slice from the half-ruined pizza. "Now, quiet. I just missed a checking penalty.

* * *

Temari didn't want to think about how she ended up cuddled close to him by the end of the night. Or how she felt about him. However a pretty good clue came when she gave some swot named Shiho detention for the rest of the year for slobbering all over him.

Shikamaru just smirked.

* * *

Ok- so I need to do some serious revision on this whole 'anecdotes' things given the fact that I just can't seem to keep to under 1000 words! lol- so from now on, the concept with be 'short stories' always under 2000 words if no one has any serious problems with that!

Either way, I should probably put up a warning for any in-school students that if your teacher comes onto you it is **seriously **wrong, illegal and you should always tell your parents/friends/another teacher.

The long oneshot is coming along nicely- I'm up to 15,000 words already and only half way through! Get ready for a big read, people! But I'm really enjoying writing it so I'm going quite quickly; hopefully up pretty soon!

Thanks to all who reviewed; especially Bibliophile Nincompoop who reviewed four in a row last night! Would seriously advise checking out her work, it's pretty damn awesome! :D

Anyways, hope you enjoy and please review as well; they're all brilliant and very much appreciated!

Still taking requests btw!

**REVIEW!**

SP7


	7. My Completely Platonic House Guest

Inspired by; My wish to come up with a slightly less fluffy Shikatema- this was the best I could do! :)

* * *

BANG

BANG

BANG

"Open up!"

Despite of the fact that he had only one foot on the stairs as he made his way up to bed, Shikamaru was still bemoaning the fact that there was someone wanting into his house at 2am in the morning.

Adding fuel to the worsening fire was the fact that this person was obviously loud and most discernibly female.

Trudging back to the door, he threw it open.

"Temari?" he queried into the night, eyeing the out-of-breath female standing on his doorway.

"Can I come in?" she asked quietly, not really looking at him; but moving closer.

Not in much of a mood to turn her down given the scene that would follow if he did, Shikamaru stepped back and widened the door allowing her room.

Taking the initiative she strode in, her arms folded around her body tightly.

"Is there a reason you're here?" Shikamaru went on abruptly, deciding to get to the point.

Obviously not wanting to answer him, the blonde continued to pace slowly back and forth in the space separating his living room and his kitchen.

"Temari..." he tried again, before she spun around quickly.

"We're not friends, right?" she questioned harshly, glaring at him angrily.

Unable to decipher what she was trying to get at by asking such a thing, he decided to be honest.

"No," he replied normally, settling himself on the edge of his coffee table. It looked like this conversation was going to run for a while.

Nodding jerkily, she started tapping her foot.

"And you don't find me attractive or anything?" she persisted, her eyes still boring into his unnervingly.

A little put off and wondering if she was trying to trap him, he stuttered.

"Eh...I...well, it's..."

Sighing hurriedly, she fixed him with an exasperated look.

"Look, you're not in love with me, are you?" Temari gritted, as Shikamaru eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"No!" he said truthfully, wondering what the hell was wrong with her tonight.

"Right," she stated heavily, as though she'd just decided something. "Good."

And then she was fumbling with her obi as he proceeded to choke.

"What..." he began, in a stunned manner but his brain cut off as her obi dropped whilst her kimono fell open.

"Do you want to have sex with me?" Temari asked without a hint of shame or embarrassment at the fact that she was essentially naked in his house, covered only by two pieces of flimsy binding.

Coughing repeatedly now and barely able to think, he asked the first thing that came into his head.

"Why?"

Rolling her eyes, Temari sighed again before her hands went for the kunai strapped to her leg, with which she then slid through the bindings like butter.

As the material fluttered to the floor, Shikamaru felt his heart stop.

"Do you want to have sex with me?" she repeated, twice as decisively as before.

And then he nodded. Because, yes, he did want to have sex with her.

* * *

He awoke the next morning with the sun streaming in through the windows, the wind rustling tenderly outside and some gorgeous, curvy blonde sprawled on the other side of his bed.

After he had finally awoken her with a little gentle shifting on his behalf, he found himself watching her wrapping up her skin with the spare bandages he kept in his bedside cabinet.

"You know last night meant nothing, don't you?" she asked quietly, sitting down to thread the material in between her thighs.

Not really surprised by her admission and to be honest, a little relieved, Shikamaru nodded silently, lying down to let his eyes drift closed again.

"My boyfriend cheated on me," came her voice, plain as anything yet sounding somewhat fragile. He thought he might have imagined it though.

His eyes opened again only to watch her retying her hair.

"So, I was revenge sex?" he asked dramatically, pretending to be miffed as she smiled half-heartedly.

She shrugged and continued with her hair perfections.

"Is he dead yet?" Shikamaru continued conversationally, mentally connecting the freckles on her back.

"No," she replied through a laugh, lying back down to sprawl herself across the foot of the bed.

"Why not?"

"I'm kind of in love with him," Temari said, as he watched her carefully for signs of emotion. "So, I don't really want to hurt him."

Surprised at the sudden display of tenderness, Shikamaru frowned.

"He hurt you," he said bluntly, kicking at her foot as she rolled over to face him.

She sighed.

"I know. But it's his loss, right?" she stated blithely, as though she had heard that line somewhere before.

As far as Shikamaru was concerned the guy was an idiot. If only for the fact that she had two brothers likely to impale him. But mostly because Shikamaru figured that once any guy actually _had_ Temari, he'd be smart enough never to let her go.

Even he knew that.

As that alarming thought entered his head, Shikamaru wondered if now might be the time to do something gallant.

"You can stay here, if you want," he said, annoyed that it didn't come out quiet as gracefully as he had wanted.

She scoffed, her head falling slowly to regard him.

"If you think that I'm staying here and sleeping with you whilst I get over this bastard then..."

Feeling incredibly stupid- he should've known she would've taken it the wrong way- Shikamaru sat up.

"Look," he interrupted practically, glaring down at her. "I'm not asking you to marry me. I'm not saying I want to be with you. I'm just saying that you can crash here for a while whilst things in Suna cool down."

Her eyes narrowed, as she watched him suspiciously.

"Ugh," he groaned, throwing his legs off of the bed. "Forget I asked."

"No!" Temari interjected quickly, sitting up, her arms stopping him from moving.

A quiet pause followed whilst he waited for her to say something.

"I'd like that," she said finally, her eyes directed downwards. "Thanks."

"No problem," Shikamaru answered gently, pressing a kiss to her shoulder, before moving towards the bathroom to get showered.

From his view in the mirror, he observed as she exited the room, trying not to think about what he had just gotten himself into.

Here he was, an admittedly lonely, hormonal teenager, shacking up with a temperamental, broken-hearted female.

He wanted to believe that it was all just platonic.

But when she crawled into his bed beside him that night, he wasn't really surprised.

* * *

I may do a follow up where boyfriend arrives- if anyone wishes it, that is :)

Let me know!

**Review!**

SP7


	8. Drive My Car

Inspired by; _Drive My Car_, by the Beatles. Although The Hot Rats do a much better version.

* * *

"Excuse me!"

...

"Excuse me!"

Shikamaru lazily let one eyelid drift open in the sweltering afternoon heat, as clearly whatever the abrasive New Yorker had to say was far more important than his nap.

Oddly enough, he wasn't surprised by the fact that it was a woman bothering him.

She was bearing down on him- her whole face blocked out by the shadows the sun cast.

"Why are you lying on my car?" she bit out angrily.

Okay. So maybe he was lying on the bonnet of her red beetle, but it was five o'clock on a Friday in Louisiana and he was tired.

"_Excuse me!" _she hissed again as he flinched.

"Alright, woman," he moaned in aggravation, allowing himself to sit up. "Stop yelling."

"Clearly everyone in this town is incapable of answering my questions, so I'll ask again," she gritted after a long heavy sigh. "Why are you lying on my car?"

Presuming that unless he answered her, she was just going to get angrier, Shikamaru put a hand over his head to allow him sight.

"Seemed as good a place as any," he answered truthfully, as his eyes did a sweep over her.

If it hadn't have been for her accent, he would still have known that she wasn't from around his town.

To be honest, she was a bit spectacular when it came to appearances.

Blonde, wavy hair bouncing around her shoulders and a figure that made him want to start panting encased in a skin-tight black dress topped off with a pair of flashy looking sunglasses.

His brow furrowed as he wondered where he recognised her from.

Growling, she stalked towards him in dangerously high heels and leant over him just enough to give him an excellent view of her cleavage.

"Where the hell is Asuma?" she questioned aggressively, as he slid off of the car and made his way back into the garage, adjusting the spanner that hung lazily off of his tool belt.

"Who?" Shikamaru asked sarcastically, knowing full well who his boss was.

"The moron who I left my car with," the woman replied, striding after him into the repair shop, her heels clicking all the way.

"Oh, him," Shikamaru continued acerbically, as though experiencing some momentous realisation. "He went out."

"Out!" she exclaimed, coming to pull back his shoulder stopping him from sitting down. "He said he'd have my car fixed by seven!"

"It'll probably take till Sunday by now," the exhausted and overheated trainee answered, knowing full well it was a lie. Her car was already fixed, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

She'd interrupted his nap.

Letting out what could only be described as a scream of rage, the woman angrily kicked the toe of her shoe against his desk making a very annoying sound.

"Please don't do that," he put in slowly, allowing his eyes to drift close again.

Another hiss was his response and he only knew that she was still there after a few moments by the continuous click of her heels and various huffs of displeasure echoing around the room.

He assumed that she had decided to wait for Asuma.

"Jesus Christ, how do you survive in this heat?" she groaned loudly, stamping her foot a couple of times.

"By making as little movement as possible," Shikamaru said meaningfully, still not letting his eyes open.

Scoffing at his answer, the woman continued to move despite his warnings.

Finally, she had obviously had enough.

"When will Asuma be back?" she asked impatiently, as he opened his eyes to narrowly dodge a screw she had just thrown at him.

Rolling his eyes, he regarded her with as much annoyance as he could muster.

"He's gone home," Shikamaru replied, finally telling the truth. The only reason he was here was to hand over her car and to take the fee.

He wished Asuma had informed him that their last customer was a harpy.

"HOME?"

He nodded.

"For fucks sake!" she spat, moving closer to knee him in the shin as he winced. "Get me his home number."

"Would you stop?" he asked, finally getting aggravated as she continued to kick him.

"Not until I have this moron on the phone."

"Where do you have to be that's so important, anyways?" Shikamaru enquired begrudgingly, turning to rifle through his phone for Asuma's number. He could deal with her.

Shikamaru was going home.

"I have a photo shoot in New York on Sunday and I have to be there!" the woman replied shrilly, nudging him in the shoulder in an effort to make him search faster.

"So, you're a model?" he asked half-interestedly, in a distinct attempt to irritate her.

She nodded haughtily.

"Never heard of you."

She let out a bark of laughter, before striding away from him to the other side of the room.

He was about to ask what she was doing when she interrupted him.

"You might never have heard of me, but you've definitely _seen_ me," she stated triumphantly, pulling their calendar down from the wall and suddenly Shikamaru knew where he recognised her from.

Spluttering as his whole face went red; Shikamaru eyed the woman standing in front of him wearing so much more than she did in his and Asuma's favourite calendar.

"You must like this picture," she said demurely, strutting towards him as she gestured to a rather lascivious photo of her clad in a red corset and suspenders that he had to admit did 'it' for him. Whatever 'it' was. "It's already August and you still have it plastered on April."

Coughing loudly, he turned to face the wall, concealing his phone as he did so; hoping that she didn't see that his phone wallpaper was also of her; his own particular favourite of the month of December- a full body shot of her wearing a couple of strategically placed red bows and not much else.

"What's wrong?" she purred into his ear, leaning down so that her breasts brushed across his shoulders and her breath tickled his neck. "Why are you so quiet now?"

Swallowing whatever pride he had left, Shikamaru swung round in his chair whilst at the same time moving it away from her.

Seeing that she had won, the girl folded her arms in victory and regarded him expectantly.

"Look...you have to be in New York by Sunday, right?" he tried hesitantly, trying not to remember all of the different photos in that calendar and what she looked like in each of them.

She nodded briskly.

"So if we left now, you'd make it?"

"We?" she queried oddly, lifting her sunglasses to look at him, allowing him a good view of her magnificent eyes.

"I could drive you...in my car," Shikamaru suggested, fully aware that he was pressing his luck.

But he had to try.

If Kiba or Chouji heard that _Sabaku no Temari _had waltzed into his work and he'd done nothing, he'd never hear the end of it.

She watched him carefully; her full lips pulled into an unknowing pout that made him feel a little weak in his stomach.

Suddenly she strode towards him, arms still folded, eyes still narrowed.

"Is my car really still broken?" she asked suspiciously, leaning her arms down onto the desk, trapping him within her form.

Shikamaru gulped.

He nodded.

Her lips pulled into a smirk.

"Fine," she sighed reluctantly, and he could tell she didn't really believe him. "Well, we have to go now."

"Fine by me," Shikamaru replied, standing up and dusting down his overalls, as Temari sashayed over to her car boot to retrieve what appeared to be luggage.

Opening the door of his own worn down car to allow her to step in, his eyes did an irresistible sweep of her shimmering legs as she stepped delicately in...to the back seat.

Moving to the driver's seat, he entered the car nervously; unable to stop himself from asking why she was seated in the back.

"Why are you sitting back there?" Shikamaru put in quietly, starting up the engine.

Then he felt her hands on his shoulders, trailing up towards his hair as her breath tickled his neck once more.

"I have to get changed," she breathed silkily, as his stomach jumped. "Eyes on the road..."

"Shikamaru," he offered, trying to keep his voice at a normal pitch...somewhat unsuccessfully.

Pulling out of the garage, he drove a few paces before his eyes involuntarily drifted up to the rear view mirror.

Hello December.

* * *

Okay, so you may have noticed that this is not a follow up to the last Anecdote but in a few reviews a lot of you stated that you couldn't wait to find out who Temari's boyfriend is/was. Originally, I had intended for him to be an O/C but it got me to thinking about who it could be; so in line with the whole 'audience participation' aspect of this fic, I'm putting a poll up onto my profile so you can vote on who you think Temari's boyfriend should be!

There will also be options for if you think it should be an O/C or if you want me just to keep it as a singular story.

Either way, vote and let me know!

Also, my long one shot is now looking at 30,000 words at least. Please let me know in your reviews if you think that's too long and would be reluctant to read it because of length.

Hope you enjoy this one; I always thought Temari would make one hell of a pinup girl ;)

**REVIEW!**

SP7


	9. The Girl from Suna The Boy from Konoha

***Not for anyone other than ShikaTema fans; slight bashing of other pairings.***

Inspired by; _The Girl from Ipanema _& **The Boy from Ipanema**

I recommend the Frank Sinatra and Diana Krall versions respectively.

_

* * *

Tall and tan and young and lovely _

_The girl from Ipanema goes walking _

_And when she passes, each one _

_She passes goes – ah._

It's getting harder...this pretending he doesn't like her 'thing'.

Shikamaru is well aware of how he feels about Temari. Thankfully no one else is.

Well, at least he thinks no one else is.

He could be wrong.

Maybe the male population of Konoha is well aware of his feelings for the Sunan seductress and have all banded together in a conspiracy to make him tear his hair out.

He hopes that is the reason.

He knows he's wrong.

Not only is it getting harder to pretend that he and Temari are 'just friends'...it's also getting more irritating.

At first, it was bearable; watching the eyes of every one of his friends drift up and down her form as she sashayed past.

_When she walks, she's like a samba _

_That swings so cool and sways so gentle, _

_That when she passes, each one _

_She passes goes – ah._

And he could deal with guys like Kiba, he honestly could. Only because Kiba's been making eyes and wolf whistling at every woman that has walked past for the best part of five years. But now he's starting to look closer. To see how Kiba's not so very vocal on how great she looks anymore; he keeps it to himself.

And that's starting to worry Shikamaru.

He watches as Kiba's wide eyes linger on her swaying hips; Temari giving the lovelorn group naught but a small nod as she continues to move. And Kiba says nothing- not a growl nor a sigh- he just keeps on gazing.

But, Shikamaru knows he could deal with Kiba and his affections; vocal or silent as the case may be; if he had someone to talk to about it with that was.

Shikamaru _wishes_ with all of his might that Chouji had not fallen under her spell as well. Wishes that he and Chouji could exchange ironic looks whilst Kiba gazes; instead he has to turn his attention to Chouji who all of a sudden has stopped eating when she comes near.

_Stopped eating_...just like that.

It's starting to irk Shikamaru. He wants to grab those chopsticks and shove them into his best friend's mouth.

_His best friend._

His best friend is checking out the girl he likes.

Not that it's Chouji's fault. He has no idea how Shikamaru feels...none of them do.

So Shikamaru sits there silently, eyes on Chouji's statue like face...only his eyes moving- following the body of Konoha's very own sun goddess, blushing furiously when she nods, smirking vigorously because he thinks it's for him.

Shikamaru wants to smack him on the back of the head.

But he doesn't.

Instead, he allows his eyes to move over to Neji's face; praying to find some semblance of sanity...but knowing he won't.

His mind tells him that just because Neji is in a relationship with Tenten doesn't mean he can't look. That's not cheating.

But, he reminds himself, dragging Temari out of the bar and into the alleyway behind the trashcans to drunkenly fumble at her lips _was_.

She pushed him away...like she does with every guy...and neither of them knew Shikamaru had seen so he said nothing.

He tells himself that Neji was just drunk...stupid. Maybe he had a fight with Tenten over something stupid. But then again, Shikamaru has never seen Neji lose control before.

Of course it would be over her.

The memory grits against his brain, reminding him of the fervent ache in his hands; wishing they could have followed Neji into that alleyway and pummelled him; using the excuse that he was standing up for Tenten.

He stops himself from allowing the anger to overwhelm him once more, instead pouring all of his energy into studying the table; his eyes narrowing slowly as Neji lets out a slow breath- imperceptible to all but him.

He has to look up...he can't help himself. He has to look to check he's not using those eyes of his to see something he shouldn't.

Shikamaru used to think he knew Neji better than that. He's not so sure anymore.

Thankfully, he isn't and Shikamaru curtails himself with thoughts that _she_ pushed him away.

Anyway, Neji has a girlfriend. He should stick to keeping her happy...not holding his breath like a corpse whenever Temari's around- which he is doing now.

Shikamaru accidentally spills his drink all over Neji's lap.

As Neji tears his eyes away and fusses over the liquid- Shikamaru doesn't bother to apologise or help- the Nara's mind wanders to the last time they were all in a bar.

His eyes move to Naruto.

Naruto and his stupid, drunken assertions that when he was Hokage, Temari would have to marry him. Sister of the Kazekage and all that. No one else for her apparently.

Temari simpered politely and turned to talk to Shikamaru before Naruto suddenly saw fit to snake his hands around her waist.

The fact that she didn't kill him spoke volumes for her character...

Shikamaru went and got Sakura who then proceeded to beat the crap out of Naruto for being drunk.

Shikamaru was happy. It saved him from doing it.

God, how he wishes they would all just leave her alone.

It's bad enough that his four closest friends insist upon drooling over her every time she comes to town but now he's starting to notice everyone else.

Shino; who lowers his glasses down his nose just a little to watch her drift by.

Kakashi; who leers disgustingly so, but then remembers what age she is and corrects himself.

All of them.

There is not a single man in this Godforsaken town that can keep his eyes off of her. And whilst he knows he is one of them, Shikamaru also knows that his reasons for doing so are very different.

Not one of them recognises her wit...intelligence...how funny she is.

She's possibly the only girl he can stand and it's because she's so different from all the rest.

Of course to her, he's just the same as all the leering morons whose heart stops just a little every time she walks by...just another guy who she doesn't see.

_But I watch her so sadly _

_How can I tell her I love her? _

_Yes I would give my heart gladly _

_But each day, when she walks to the sea _

_She looks straight ahead, not at me._

**Tall and tan and young and handsome**

**The boy from Ipanema goes walking**

**And when he passes**

**Each girl he passes goes - ah**

Temari knows it's idiotic...this hating every other girl in Konoha thing. But she can't help it.

She just does.

She tries to pretend that it's because they're all bimbos...bad kunoichi...emotional and sentimental, but it's not.

At first, she could deal with it...them drooling all over _her guy._ She used to laugh at them... 'peh- as if he'd ever like _you_.'

But now she's starting to wonder.

**When he walks**

**He's like a samba **

**That swings so cool and sways so gentle **

**That when he passes each girl**

**He passes goes - ah**

They all prattle on to her about how much he likes each one of them...each with their own different and special story.

With Sakura, Shikamaru is the new Sasuke.

Dear God, the girl never shuts up about his abs.

Not that Temari is disinclined to agree...she can appreciate the gorgeous sight of the Nara shirtless as much as the next dim nitwit that Konoha produces. But Sakura just insists on pressing the issue. So much so that Temari wants to whack her with her fan and tell her to keep her eyes to herself.

And the whoop that was created that time Shikamaru went and talked to her in the bar. Temari never heard the end of it.

'_Did you see how he grabbed my arm? Kunoichi Weekly says that means he feels a deep, spiritual connection with me!'_

Temari invited Sakura to spar after that one, hoping to improve upon the deep, spiritual connection between Shikamaru and Sakura's broken arm.

Fortunately, Sakura is the most vocal one.

You would think it would be Ino...but it's not.

And Temari knows why.

Ino confessed to him about two weeks ago. No else knows but Ino, Shikamaru...and Temari.

From the tearstained face Ino was sporting when she showed up at Temari's house that night; it didn't go so well. Temari tried to weasel some information out of the Nara after the incident...pretending to be concerned for Ino...really hoping that Shikamaru would say he vomited on the spot.

Either way he wasn't up to talking about it much. He just kind of shrugged and looked mildly annoyed before telling her that women were idiots.

_They never pick up on anything, and when they finally do it's the wrong thing._

The worst thing is that before all this- Ino thought Shikamaru would be a good fling...someone to get over Sasuke with.

Now, since he's turned her down, clearly he's her soul mate.

_Meant to be_ is the phrase Temari keeps hearing.

She would cause Ino some serious bodily harm were it not for how upset she was. Temari feels bad for her.

But then, she would have felt worse killing her if Shikamaru had said yes, so she supposes Ino should be grateful.

**Oh, but I watch him so sadly **

**How can I tell him I love him?**

**Yes I would give my heart gladly**

**But each day**

**When he walks to the sea **

**He looks straight ahead, not at me**

And the rest of them...

The rest are a bunch of bumbling idiots.

Tenten, acting as though she stays late at the hot springs because she needs time alone, when really it's because she knows Shikamaru does too and will inevitably walk her home, being the gentleman he is.

Never mind the fact that Tenten has a boyfriend.

Not the best one in the world, Temari reminds herself, but one nonetheless. She should stick to learning to please her own man before going after someone else's.

The last notable one is Hinata.

Again, Temari would inflict some bodily harm onto the poor girl were it not for how lonesome she is. After Naruto practically declaring to the whole world that he was going to marry someone from outside of Konoha's borders...no clue as to whom...Hinata was naturally upset.

And whose arms should she fall into, but those of Shikamaru's.

Shikamaru who is kind enough to comfort the poor girl, thinking that she just needs help getting over a crush, when in reality, Hinata stopped looking at Naruto a long time ago now.

Now, it is Shikamaru she blushes for.

Temari wants to knock all of their heads together.

Not that any of them know how Temari feels about Shikamaru. They all think she is their secret confidant. Tactful enough to keep how each of them feel about him secret.

And so there they all are...the bunch of idiots that they are; watching and drooling as he trains shirtless in the afternoon sun.

Shiho is there as well, sitting quietly...in the background, but Temari knows she has nothing to worry about there. Even Hinata can hold a conversation with him.

She feels like screaming.

She knows that even if she manages to hike her skirt up as high as Sakura's or lower her neckline as deep as Ino...even if she manages to cry desperately in his arms like Hinata, resident damsel in distress ...or dress as slowly as possible at the hot springs in the hopes he'll peek...Temari knows that he's never going to look at her like that.

She's just another one of the bimbos he's constantly complaining about. Moaning that the woman he really wants is one who will play shougi with him, watch clouds with him and give him a good argument when he really needs it. One who will get along well with his family and friends and who won't flaunt herself down the street like every other girl.

Never mind the fact that Temari's been playing shougi, watching clouds and arguing with him since they first met. Oh no, the Nara seemingly can't remember those three days she spent helping him babysit for Kurenai...or the fact that she smiles only at him every time she sees him, but he's always too busy glaring at Neji or Kiba to notice.

It gets her angry...thinking about how stupid he is.

So instead of sitting there drooling over him like the rest of those bitches...Temari goes off to spar with him.

True, he may see her as sweaty and manly and coarse...as Sakura so delicately points out.

But, Temari reasons...as least she gets to put her hands on him.

And when _his_ hands fall to her waist...thigh...neck, instead of her shoulders, kneecaps and face as they should, Temari wonders if she is so very far away from winning this game as she previously thought.

**Tall and tan and young and handsome**

**The boy from Ipanema goes walking**

**And when he passes**

**Each girl he passes goes – ah.**

* * *

Ok- so definitely not my best work, but I just love the idea of Temari trying to attract Shikamaru's attention but can't because he's too busy glaring at someone else for staring at her. Either way, I have an exam in a couple of days so updates will be sparse and anything I do post will probably not be my best work!

Thanks to _MavisBeacon_ and _Vskrainaek_ for their suggestions; they're coming up!

As far as 'House Guest' goes- the poll is tied so anyone who hasn't voted, hurry up! :)

Please review, I love them all and need their warm fuzziness at this particularly crap time.

SP7


	10. Birthday's, Cigarettes and Alcohol

Inspired by; Temari's Birthday. I think it's fitting that my tenth anecdote should be a present for the wonderful character that inspired it!

* * *

"Alright moron, I'm here," Temari called, kicking her way through the unusually unruly vegetation that she was not used to dealing with.

"I know," came back a lazy voice. "I heard you coming a mile away. Noisy woman."

Scoffing, Temari pushed back a branch of an offending tree and was finally greeted by the welcoming sight of a small, circular sanctuary nestled amongst the leaves.

"I still don't understand why I had to come all the way out here..."

"Because I came all the way out to you last year," was Shikamaru's dry response as he fiddled with some twigs; lying with his back to her- his face angled upwards.

Huffing, she settled herself beside him in the dense shrubbery, taking a well deserved breath of relaxation.

"Good trip?" the Nara enquired politely, shuffling about in his groove.

"Eh..." Temari replied inadequately, giving her shoulders a shrug. "Usual, really. Bit hotter maybe."

Shikamaru nodded.

"So, are we going to get started?" she asked impatiently, knowing that she had to begin the journey home in under three hours.

He nodded again, before stuffing his right hand into his pocket with a minimum amount of movement. A few moments later he produced a small, black tube and held it out in the space between them.

Temari felt her eyebrows rise.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Shikamaru shrugged in answer, but she could see a small smirk twitching at the corners of his mouth.

The ass.

"Did you at least bring me a mirror?" Temari pressed childishly, grabbing the tube from him and removing the cap. "Red?" she hissed upon examination of the lipstick. "What? Do you want me to look like a hooker?"

Shikamaru shrugged once more but was now sporting a full blown grin.

"Moron," she spat again, before applying the lipstick as delicately as she could manage, knowing that she probably had a good deal on her chin and teeth. Once finished, she threw the tube back at him, aiming for his head and missing.

Putting the tube back into his trousers, Shikamaru turned to look at her as she glared at him.

"Fantastic," he commented suavely, his face no longer concealing his glee...she could actually see his dimples as he smiled.

She would have snarled and bit back a comment at him if it weren't for the fact that he looked so adorable when he smiled. So instead, she produced her preliminary offering.

He observed her proffered hand; his grin instantly fading.

"These again?" he droned, irritation tainting his voice. "I thought you got over this."

"I remembered how much you liked them the last time," Temari interjected sweetly, shoving the hand towards him. "Go ahead."

Groaning, Shikamaru grabbed the pink, sparkly earrings from her hand and began to remove his own.

"There," Temari said happily, once he had interchanged the pair. "Now we both look like hookers."

Snorting, Shikamaru let out a small laugh as he turned to look at her.

"Right, next," she went on calmly, turning away before the two of them descended into fits of laughter- which would inevitably happen.

"Alright," he replied, before his hands drifted to another pocket, this time in his jacket.

Temari's eyes narrowed as he produced a packet of cigarettes and a lighter.

Seeing the look on her face, Shikamaru raised his eyebrows challengingly as he pressed the cigarette between his teeth and handed her the lighter. Holding it loosely in her hand, Temari eyed him defiantly.

"Well, come on," he said lightly, his eyes closed, voice muffled by the intrusion in his mouth. "Haven't got all day."

When she still didn't move, Shikamaru turned to look at her, the stick still hanging from his lips.

"We said anything..." he sang casually, as her mouth twisted into a scowl.

Growling- she knew she was defeated- Temari flicked open the cap of the lighter and proceeded to ignite the cigarette.

"Thanks," was his infuriating reply, as his eyes closed once more.

"Bastard," she murmured, as his lips quirked again.

"We said anything," he said once more, inhaling deeply before letting the smoke drift out of his mouth.

"Yeah, we did," Temari agreed, turning around to pull over her heavy rucksack to retrieve her next go. Unzipping the opening, she retrieved one bottle of bourbon, another of vermouth and a final one of angostura bitters, as well as a cocktail shaker.

Eyeing the bottles, Shikamaru's cigarette drooped.

Smirking at her win, Temari shoved the ingredients towards him.

"Well...get to it," she stated cockily, as Shikamaru sulked before grabbing the bottles.

"You brought sweet," he commented distastefully, his eyes wandering over the vermouth.

"I felt like dry," Temari answered simply, impressed as he began measuring out amounts from memory- his hands moving almost automatically.

When he was finished he handed her the cocktail shaker and she took a long, loud gulp.

"No cherries?" Shikamaru murmured unhappily, not watching her and moving back to his cigarette.

Cheerily, Temari retrieved a plastic tub of cherries from her bag and shook them in his face.

She took another large gulp.

"Don't drink it too quickly. You won't be able to walk home," he advised moodily as she began chewing on a cherry.

Shrugging, Temari didn't have the heart to tell him that this was her fifth Manhattan in two weeks.

"You want some," she asked, just for badness; moving the shaker towards him. "You're twenty-one now."

"Not for another sixteen days," was his response.

"So, last one," Temari went on bracingly, knowing that he was likely to sulk about this for the rest of the evening.

"Here," Shikamaru said, holding out an old cooking apron, covered with stains and sweat to her.

She frowned in confusion.

"It's my mothers," he explained, as she nodded in understanding, gaining the cloth from him and hanging it around her person.

"Your final one," Temari continued, handing him large bottle of hair gel.

Sighing, Shikamaru took the gel before letting his hair down.

She had to look away.

"Put it all in," she commanded, as she heard the disgusting squelch from the gel bottle. "Make it look like Sasuke's."

Shikamaru scoffed but when she turned back his hair was a veritable cacophony of black oil slick.

"Well done," Temari said as she appraised him.

"Thanks," he responded sardonically, looking as though he was wearing a very large racoon on top of his head and didn't know quite what to do about it.

"So...anything else you want before we go...?" she half asked, as Shikamaru considered.

"I just want to tell you that you are the most annoying, idiotic and troublesome woman I've ever met in my life and that that lipstick _really _suits you," he interjected harshly, as Temari nodded, trying to ignore the anger bubbling in her stomach.

"Good...well, you are a chauvinistic ass who can't fight to save his life and wouldn't be missed if exterminated off the face of the earth," she responded in equal heat, as Shikamaru's cheeks coloured.

"You ready?" he asked abruptly.

She nodded.

The contact should have been slow and awkward but they had been doing this for five years now; they were both used to it.

His hand snaked around her waist roughly as hers grasped the collar of his jacket harshly. Determinedly, they mashed their lips together; their foreheads bumped, teeth clacked and bodies collided.

They were going to overcome this.

She bristled as he touched her; caught between killing him and attempting to remember the task at hand.

And _yes, _it was working. _Finally._

Her stomach jumped in revulsion as her hands drifted to his hair- pressing sickeningly into the horrible sticky consistency of the gel. Her nerves hissed unhappily as they felt the long, dangly earrings bash against the side of her face and as he breathed out, she shivered in disgust at the horrible, toxic smell of nicotine.

She kept kissing him, happy that it had finally worked...happy that she was finally free.

Or so she thought.

...

It was his fault.

He ruined it.

He groaned.

The sound travelled straight between her legs, producing a heat that she had felt before. That she wasn't meant to feel again this time.

Temari sighed unhappily against his lips...knowing they had been beaten, but the sound just spurred him on. His hands went for her own hair, pushing her lips further towards his own, coaxing her mouth open.

She wouldn't have given up. He might have- that much was clear. But she wouldn't have, had he not groaned again.

It was too much. She couldn't resist it.

If they had failed again, then at the very least she could go down satisfied.

Hungrily, she returned the kiss passionately, her hands drifting to his hair once more, grasping at the locks and not giving a damn that they were covered in gel. As his tongue entered her mouth, she tasted _him_...not the smoke and although the smell was potent, it was overpowered by the utter heaven that was the taste of him.

Temari didn't know how- she assumed he had twisted them- but suddenly she was sprawled across the forest floor; her limbs entangled with his, pressing up against one another as he shoved himself between her legs.

A loud bird's cry echoed.

They both jerked back.

He gazed down at her; his lips red, cheeks flushed and eyes unsteady.

It seemed a stupid question to ask after all that, but she had to.

"Still?"

He nodded.

Angrily, she felt tears prick at her eyes.

"You too?" he asked quietly, as she turned her eyes away from his gaze.

She nodded as well.

Sighing, he got off of her, throwing himself down against a tree as she sat up.

He threw the earrings off of him as she grappled with the apron.

"Maybe, we should just give in and get married," Shikamaru suggested plainly, as Temari's stomach jumped.

It annoyed her that it was in excitement, but she could pretend it was indignation.

"No!" she spat, glaring at him unflinchingly, her eyes alight with emotion. "No! We can beat this."

"It's been five years," Shikamaru countered, studying his knees.

"We can beat this," Temari pressed consistently. "We just have to try harder!"

He looked at her in question.

"Bring some of your mother's jewellery next year...and more make-up...try and get Ino's perfume as well," Temari commanded authoritatively, her mind buzzing a mile a minute.

Shikamaru nodded in comprehension, throwing his head back against the tree.

He looked unhappy.

"What's wrong?" she asked in annoyance.

His head shook a couple of times, before he looked at her- his eyes looking tired and worn.

"Five years we've been coming here, Temari," he stated plainly, as her stomach lurched- this time in honesty. "Nothing has worked. Has it ever entered your head that maybe we're just meant to be together."

Growling, Temari stormed over and kicked him in the shin.

"We are not meant to be together," she answered fervently, feeling her cheeks grow hot. "We are from different lands...we want different things. You're too young, I'm too troublesome. You're too anti-woman, I'm too anti-children. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

He said nothing.

"Not to mention the fact that we hate each other," Temari pressed on, gesturing wildly with her hands.

"How can you hate someone you're in love with?" he asked calmly, looking up at her with unflinching eyes.

A little take aback...she didn't know why- they had both confessed five years ago- Temari stuttered.

"I-I-I manage it fine," she replied cattily, folding her arms.

She sat, because her legs were unable to support her anymore.

"We will beat this," she said finally, her fists clenched. "We will."

"What if I don't want to anymore?"

"Don't you dare!" Temari bit out, riling up once again. "Don't! I can't do this all by myself. I need you to...to...remember all the things you hate about me. Drinking...too like your mother...all that. Think, Nara! That's what you're supposed to be good at."

Sighing, Shikamaru began replacing the objects into his various pockets.

"Next year, it will work," she continued, hoping to sound reassuring but really she had a feeling that she just sounded a bit mad.

"Sixth again?" he asked, not looking at her as he stood up. She followed suit.

"Yes...half way between."

"I'll come to you."

She nodded.

"See you then," Shikamaru intoned, wandering off towards his own village as Temari began packing up her own debris.

A thought hit her.

"And Nara!" she yelled abruptly out into the woods. "Don't you dare come back with a ring next year!"

He didn't reply but she assumed he had heard.

Tightening the lids on all the bottles, Temari packed them away before reaching for the cocktail shaker and pouring the contents into the leaves.

A light caught her eye. She looked downwards.

There, lying between a mixture of foliage, dirt and Manhattan mixture was something small, round and gold.

That bastard.

* * *

Just in case anyone didn't get that, Temari and Shikamaru meet up once a year bang in the middle of their birthdays to convince each other that they aren't in love. Sorry if my blatant obviousness just ruined the story for everyone! lol.

Life's a bit crap at the minute so I really don't know when updates will be coming. Exam went well thjhought- thanks to everyone who wished me luck- it made me smile and study harder *cough*- lol.

So still send in suggestions if you have them- I enjoy reading them.

Hope you enjoyed!

**REVIEW!**

SP7


	11. Trouble

Inspired by; _Vskrainaek _request for 'Worry' Companion piece with Yoshino and Temari.

* * *

"Now you mustn't worry, dear. I can see that you are; it's written all over your face."

The girl swallowed delicately from her perch atop the hospital bed, before smiling wearily at Yoshino.

"I have no doubt that there is nothing wrong with you," Yoshino continued practically, rearranging the paper flowers that adorned the room. "Sakura is going to come right back here and tell us you are fine."

Temari nodded as her hand drifted to her mouth.

Yoshino frowned.

"Don't bite your nails," she interjected sharply, whilst wondering what on earth they taught kunoichi out in Suna.

"Sorry," Temari mumbled distractedly, shuffling about on the bed a little.

Now Yoshino knew there was something wrong- the girl never apologised for anything. Not that she was insolent; she just had enough self-assurance to keep her person in check. But for a girl that was generally so confident, biting her nails went off like an alarm bell around Yoshino's head.

She could smell a rat. And she was going to shoo it out, even if it meant forcing Temari to confess. The pair of them might think she was an idiot- maybe they even had Shikaku fooled- but Yoshino remembered all too well what it was like to be a young adult and when you shut yourself up in your room for hours on end with a member of the opposite sex there was no way the two of you were just 'reading'.

"Do you want me to go and see if Shikamaru's nearing the gate?" she asked sweetly, watching like a hawk for Temari's reaction.

The girl shook her head a little, as her eyes darted from the window to the door, searching in the bleak afternoon light.

"He will get here, Temari," Yoshino went on as gently as she could manage, turning back to the flowers.

"I don't care if he gets here," Temari replied in a muffle and Yoshino could tell she was ripping at her nails again.

That was definitely not as vehement a denial of their relationship as Yoshino was accustomed to receiving.

"But he will," she offered reassuringly, sighing when she realised that those flowers were never going to sit the way she wanted them to. Paper flowers never did. "And when he does, you'll feel better."

"I'll feel exactly the same," the Sunan mumbled defiantly, moving back on the bed a little. "I'd rather my brothers were here, to be honest."

Yoshino simpered.

Really this girl was the most terrible liar she ever met. She'd been seeing her as a regular at their little home for about three years now and not once had she ever asked for her brothers; even when she caught a bad winter flu- she still mentioned not wanting to trouble them.

She was about to continue in her own investigation but was interrupted when Sakura came bustling into the room.

"So, Temari," the pink haired girl said cheerily, before offering a nod to Yoshino. "You fainted, yes?" she inquired, checking the chart attentively.

Temari nodded queasily.

"Okay...well then I'm just going to have to ask you some questions, if that's alright," Sakura checked, her beaming smile starting to irritate Yoshino no end. "Maybe you'd feel more comfortable if Yoshino-san stepped outside?"

"Please, Sakura-san," Yoshino cut in harshly, before Temari could open her mouth. "I'm aware of the date when this girl starts menstruating every month. I doubt anything you could ask her would be unknown to me," she continued genially, resisting a smirk when Temari rolled her eyes.

"Yoshino can stay," Temari reaffirmed weakly, as Sakura eyed the two of them oddly.

"Alright then," the nurse forged on, flipping over her chart to a new page and preparing her pen. "Temari, are you diabetic?"

Temari shook her head.

"Have you been sleeping properly?"

The girl nodded.

"Eating alright?"

Another nod.

Sakura paused a little here, her eyes darting between Yoshino and Temari.

"Go on, Sakura-san," Yoshino urged as pleasantly as she could manage, resisting the urge to remark bluntly on the standard of medic-nin's this generation had produced.

"Temari...are you sexually active?" the girl asked quietly.

"No!" Temari put in quickly, her whole face flushing red as she gripped the sheets with her hands. "Never even seen...I mean I don't have a boyfriend...I don't even think I remember what sex is. How does it happen again, Yoshino?"

Yoshino's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed.

Now they were getting somewhere.

"Don't be stupid, dear," she replied curtly, as Temari swallowed heavily- her breathing very deep for someone who should be calm. "We all believe you," the woman lied obviously, distinctly unpleased when Sakura sniggered. "Continue, please, Sakura-san."

This time it was Sakura who swallowed as she flipped over another page of the chart only for her eyes to widen beyond belief.

"Oh..." the nurse breathed, her eyes moving between the chart and Temari.

"Is something wrong, Sakura-san?" Yoshino queried, intrigued as she watched Temari's eyes plead on behalf of her as some sort of unspoken exchange took place between her and the nurse.

"Nothing," Sakura said finally, smiling matter-of-factly at Yoshino as she backed towards the door. "Nothing at all. I've just got to go and...see...about...another patient."

The nurse scuttled out of the room, her eyes on the floor.

"I wonder what that was about?" Yoshino asked to no one in particular, slightly moved as Temari's lower lip started to tremble.

"No idea," the girl replied shakily, fumbling with her fingers. "Medic-nin's in Konoha. Useless. All of them."

"Mmmm..." the female Nara committed as her head whirled a mile a minute.

Something was going on here and if her stupid son would only get back from his mission, then she could force it out of him.

Deciding that nothing was going to happen waiting around, Yoshino slipped into the bathroom adjoining Temari's room, pleased to see that there was some potpourri in there that needed arranging.

* * *

Just as the door to the bathroom slammed shut, the door to Temari's hospital room flew open and in ran Shikamaru.

"Where the hell have you been?" Temari hissed, nearly jumping off of the bed to strangle him.

"Sorry," Shikamaru replied sounding hassled, moving towards her to press a kiss to her forehead. "I got here as quickly as I could. What happened?"

"I fainted," Temari replied bleakly, bemoaning her own stupid weakness.

"What?" he all but shouted whilst Temari attempted to shush him. "Why? Where you hurt? Is the baby okay?"

Groaning inwardly, Temari didn't have the heart to tell him that his mother was in the bathroom and probably listening to every word they said.

"Hopefully," she answered eventually, feeling as though she was about to vomit. Their secret was out. Now it was only a case of who Yoshino decided to murder first. "I'm still waiting for them to do some tests."

Nodding oddly, Shikamaru settled himself beside her as his arms drifted around her middle.

"You look worried," he commented quietly against her hair.

"I am," Temari whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder. "This isn't going to work out."

"Yes, it is," Shikamaru pressed fervently, turning his head to look at her.

"No, it isn't," she argued back, twitching as he started to trace circles on her back. He was trying to calm her down, but it wasn't going to work. "We have no money. We're not even married. My brothers are going to kill you. Your mother is going to kill me. Where are we going live? How can we afford to live? I don't even have a resident visa here; I'll be kicked out, baby in tow..." she rambled on, working herself into an even greater frenzy as she went.

"Hey...hey!" Shikamaru cut in, eventually kissing her just to get her to shut up. "None of that is going to happen," he reassured gently, smiling down at his rationally-challenged girlfriend. "I'm going to go and talk to Tsunade now about your visa and about getting an advance on my wages. We can get a small place that will do for the three of us," he continued as Temari blinked at him owlishly, wanting to believe him that it was all going to work out but knowing that it was never going to be as simple as he made out. "I told you I was going to take care of you both and I am," he finished confidently, encasing her in his arms once more. "Troublesome as it may be."

Elbowing him in the ribs, Temari couldn't resist a smile as he laughed.

"Useless...lazy, stupid..." she mumbled against his chest, as he continued to laugh.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied smartly, giving her one last hug as he stood up. "Useless and lazy is going to go see about our house now. Try to have something nice for dinner when I get home wifey," he quipped grinning, leaving the room just in time for a pile of paper flowers to come hurtling towards his head.

And so she sat, waiting for Yoshino to come out of the bathroom and ring her neck.

* * *

"Was that voices I heard?" Yoshino asked, poking her head out of the bathroom and frowning at the now distinctly unarranged display of paper flowers on the floor.

"Eh...Shikamaru just dropped by," Temari answered quietly, as Yoshino stooped to pick up the flowers.

"Oh good," the Nara stated happily, smiling at Temari as she replaced the flowers in there vase. "I'll just go and see where he is. I feel as though I haven't seen my son in ages."

"O...kay," the girl said oddly, watching Yoshino closely as the elder woman tried very hard not to laugh.

"Get some rest, dear," Yoshino ended sweetly, closing the door on a dumbfounded Sunan.

At the end of the ward, Yoshino caught sight of her esteemed husband standing uselessly against the wall.

"Shikaku!" she barked, as the elder of her lazy family moved towards her. "I want a new house."

Her husband's face dropped.

"What?"

"I want a new house," she repeated firmly.

"I heard that," Shikaku replied dimly, rubbing at the back of his head. "I suppose I should have asked why."

"We need the space."

"There's only three of us," he reasoned desperately, as they began to walk towards the door.

"Not for long," Yoshino said cryptically, taking his arm as she thought happily of her ever growing family.

"Oh God," Shikaku breathed, his mouth falling open as he regarded her. "You're not...I mean...there's not another..."

Rolling her eyes, Yoshino resisted the urge to kick him in the shins.

"No, I'm not," the woman answered harshly, trying to recover her happy mood. "Besides..._we_ won't be moving."

"We won't? Then why do we need a new house?"

"I'll give you a moment to work that one out, husband," Yoshino deadpanned, smiling as in the distance she observed Ino Yamanaka and Chouji Akimichi shriek and pile on top of her son in a heartening display of friendship.

They were just about to leave when Yoshino spotted Sakura at the end of the hall and, after saying goodbye to her husband, made a beeline for her.

"Sakura-san!" she hissed as the nurse turned a pale white but came to her all the same. "Temari's pregnant."

Sakura stuttered here, her face turning red.

"I-I-I know," she said finally, clutching her chart until her knuckles turned white.

"_I_ know," Yoshino pressed firmly, grasping the girl by the shoulders. "But now that I know, I have a number of jobs for you. Number one," she began assuredly, as Sakura gazed at her wide-eyed. "You are going to go to Tsunade and tell her to give my son a pay raise. If she doesn't, tell her I'll give Naruto her home address. Secondly, you will go and tell Ino to plan the biggest baby shower she can. That girl is far too upset about her own pregnancy to be normal. Somebody needs to cheer her up," she continued as Sakura nodded fervently, trying to remember it all. "Finally, if you see Eiko Yamanaka, tell her I'm looking for her. I need to inform her that _I_ have a daughter-in-law now," she finished gleefully, turning on her heel towards the hospital doors.

"But Yoshino-san," Sakura called meekly. "Temari and Shikamaru aren't engaged."

"Not yet, Sakura-san," Yoshino replied happily. "Not yet."

* * *

I always pictured Yoshino on Desperate Housewives for some reason; a mix between Lynette and Bree. Either way, hope you all enjoy.

Should be more Anecdotes coming soon and as for the 30,000 one I've gotten cold feet about posting it so I might edit it a bit and see how I feel. Apologies to anyone who was waiting :)

And thanks to _KeshvsWhitePoison _for her request. My imagination is getting to work! lol.

Thanks for reading,

**REVIEW!**

SP7 :)


	12. Questions

Inspired by; _KeshvsWhitePoison _request- hair cuts for both of them; I realise I've only done Shikamaru- hopefully that's ok! & heavily influenced by HP7 Part 1.

* * *

**SPOILERS FOR CURRENT MANGA CHAPTER**

* * *

His eyes closed, he breathed in soundly and deeply to the quiet hum of the evening rain on the roof of the tent and the ever present _snip_ _snip_ that echoed around his ears.

"Does it bother you?"

The question slipped from his mouth before his brain had time to register the thought itself but if he was honest it had been rattling around his head since they'd set up camp that afternoon.

The _snipping_ continued.

"Does what bother me?"

"How long it's been?" he clarified complacently, holding in a yawn. "How long the wars been going on for?"

There was a slight pause and a sigh from behind him as a rush of warm breath touched his neck.

"The waiting annoys me," was the final reply as the _snipping_ resumed. "This...stalemate...it's frustrating. I hate sitting around..." she continued, as strands of brown hair littered his shoulders.

"Mmm..."

_Snip Snip._

"What about you? Bored yet?" Temari questioned easily, her fingers running through his hair to measure the length.

"Somewhat," Shikamaru responded truthfully, his eyes still closed in relaxation. "It's nice to have some time off. And to have everyone together again," he remarked, hearing the dulcet lull of multiple voices conversing in the background.

"Speaking of which..." _snip_, "don't you want to go say hello?" she asked and even with his eyes closed and her behind him, he knew she was referring to Ino's presence amongst them.

Refraining from shaking his head for fear of the scissors, Shikamaru merely made a negating noise in the back of his throat.

"There's someone who's missed her more than I have," he commented knowingly; the image of Chouji's beaming face as she entered the tent burned into the back of his mind.

She laughed gently and he felt her smile.

"It's good to see them together," Temari admitted obviously watching the pair from the corner of her eye. "There's something..._sweet _about them as a couple," she said, the words sounding foreign on her tongue.

"Not just yet," Shikamaru reprimanded smoothly, not wanting his well-meaning but enthusiastic converser to disrupt the pace Chouji and Ino had established for themselves unwittingly.

_Snip Snip. _

"But soon?"

"Soon," he confirmed, a small smile decorating his features. "Very soon," he added, as his eyes opened to the sight of Ino tending delicately to one of Chouji's unhealed wounds.

"Good," she breathed contentedly, as he once more felt the warm breeze of her exhalation fluttering around his neck pleasantly. "They look happy," she remarked, _snip_, and Shikamaru closed his eyes once more.

"They are."

"Mmm..."

_Snip Snip. _

"I'll be done soon," Temari informed him, as Shikamaru furrowed his brow in displeasure; it was the first time he'd sat down all day. "I should go bring Gaara some food," she went on intently, her fingers once more measuring and tickling the back of his neck.

"You should go get yourself some," he corrected, feeling her move slightly to his right to begin on that section of hair. "You've done nothing but work all day; now you're taking care of me and looking to start on the Kazekage. You need to eat something yourself."

"I'm fine," she dismissed hurriedly, the scissors moving faster now. "Gaara's been in meetings all day and you helped put up the tent," _snip_, "someone needs to look after the pair of you."

Sighing, he resisted the urge to turn round and eye her undoubtedly earnest expression.

"When you're done, I'll get him some food," Shikamaru mitigated placidly, knowing she was probably rolling her eyes. "You can sit and be still, troublesome woman."

Another small laugh.

"If you bring him anything with..."

"No sweet bean jelly, I know," he interjected directly.

The scissors stalled in a need for explanation.

"You talk about your brothers a lot."

_Snip Snip._

"I wasn't aware you were listening," Temari commented lowly, as she moved further round to the right.

"I do occasionally...when there's nothing better to do," he said sarcastically, seeing her smile out of the corner of his eyes and noting inwardly how far they had come.

A while ago that comment would have been enough to bait her and start a futile argument. Now it was merely playful banter that the two regularly shared.

A delicate, companionable silence settled over them as Temari worked and he relaxed, knowing that in a few days, the opposition would do something offensive or they would do something daring and the whole thing would start up again.

As her fingers touched his neck again, he felt a shiver travel up through the tips and straight into his own skin.

"Cold?" he asked lightly, already beginning to unzip his jacket.

Not bothering to answer, she merely moved away allowed him to lean forward and remove the clothing altogether. He sank back into the chair again as she donned the added layer and began to work again.

"A year and I'm still not used to this bloody climate," Temari stated somewhat bitterly, now working level with his ear.

"Do you miss home?" he asked, resuming the contemplative beginnings of their discussion.

"Yes," she answered almost automatically.

_Snip Snip. _

"I miss Suna's easiness," she explained without prompting as Shikamaru felt his stomach twist and then a further pang of displeasure that the twist had happened so involuntarily.

He hated the word Suna.

"I miss my old life," was the final honest admission tinged with weariness. "I miss peace."

Nodding, he jumped a little when her hands grasped his head to keep it still.

"If you'd like me to cut off your ear..."

Exhaling with a smile instead of apologising, Shikamaru merely allowed her to continue working, his eyes focusing in on the intent conversation Kiba and Shino were having as Hana dozed in the distance.

"You'll be glad to get home, then?" was the next question out of his mouth; another he had not meant to ask quite so suddenly.

"Of course," she replied simply; a continued reply cut off abruptly as the tent opened and Mifune strode in briskly and headed straight for Gaara. Her brief pause ended as she began _snipping_ again, her eyes no longer on the door.

Her silence said everything it needed to; Shikamaru had not missed the glint dying in her eyes when all the parties arrived for the rendezvous earlier in the day and Kankuro was not among them. Some troops were further away than others and not able to make it quickly enough to allow a full reunification of the alliance.

For the leaders it meant a missed opportunity to strategize fully; for Temari, it meant it may as well not have happened at all.

"Won't you?" she queried after a suppressed sigh.

He said nothing; he would have nodded half-heartedly had he been able to- instead he sat still.

Forcing the next question he wanted to ask back into his head, Shikamaru merely closed his eyes, reminded himself that he was meant to be relaxing- not worrying- and tried to do just that.

She moved her seat once more and then she was in front of him; face to face.

He opened his eyes and was met with her own; studying the roots of his hair carefully as she ran her fingers through the lengths to pull them down on either side of his face.

_Snip Snip. _

"So, you'll go back to Suna?"

Seemingly, the question had to be asked, whether he wanted to or not.

She swallowed and avoided his gaze, her eyes instead narrowing in on the tips of the right side of his hair.

_Snip Snip. _

Sensing that she wasn't going to answer, Shikamaru gave up on question dodging altogether.

"You'll go back to Suna and I'll see you once every six months? Like the old times, then?"

Another swallow.

"It could be more frequent," Temari said finally, quietly continuing about her work allowing him direct eye contact for only a second. "Every three...maybe even two months."

He wasn't sure how to proceed; if he went ahead he was forcing them into a conversation that they weren't ready to have yet- he knew he wasn't and was pretty sure she wasn't as well. But there was just something about tonight- about having her volunteer to cut his hair, watching her as she pottered around him; her face when she realised Kankuro wasn't amongst the arriving parties- it was forcing him to questions he didn't want to, but knew that he needed to.

They had been taking care of each other more and more as the war progressed in length; he had never bothered to ask what it had all meant- he already knew- as did she, but neither of them were ready to confirm it, for whatever reason.

Just not yet.

She was meeting him eye to eye and he felt the hesitance just from her look, but she was daring him on in his head and he guessed that if he didn't ask now, it would be another six months before he could.

She moved to the left of his face.

_Snip Snip. _

"Could you live away from Suna?" was the way it finally came out.

She didn't flinch, nor react in any huge way but they both knew the implications of the question- what it really was. What he was really asking.

'Could you live away from Suna in Konoha?'

'Could you live away from Suna, in Konoha with me? As my wife? As the mother of my children?'

_Snip Snip. _

"Could you live away from Konoha?" she asked, although she already knew the answer- it was a defeated question before she asked it, but he knew she was just making sure- just in case there was a way around it.

He couldn't shake his head, so he said what she needed to hear.

"No."

_It will have to be you._

Her eyes darted away from his suddenly and he looked in the direction of her gaze to see Gaara striding through the tent accompanied by Mifune, clutching a steaming bowl of soup. He gave the pair a small nod before his eyes hardened in concentration again and the leaders continued on their way.

Their eyes locked again.

She nodded.

He knew nothing he could say would adequately explain his gratitude to her and so he stayed silent; a weight lifting off his shoulders as she once more ran her fingers down both sides, measuring all the way.

_Snip Snip. _

"All done," Temari said, setting the scissors aside and brushing the excess hair away from his shoulders swiftly.

He lifted his own hands up and felt the shortened hair before rapidly loosening the tie on his fingers and sweeping the strands up in their usual style.

"Was it always this short?" he questioned, patting the top of his pony tail.

She nodded again.

"It looks good," Temari commented, as he noticed that she was flushed.

Smiling, he placed his hand on top of hers.

"Thanks," Shikamaru replied quietly, as she looked down to study their joined hands.

He kept his eyes on her, even though the conversation in the room had stopped and he knew all eyes were on them, all with their own question- 'is this finally it?'

Finally, she withdrew her hand from his and stood up, dusting down her dress.

"He's probably not even eating it," she said meekly by way of explanation, giving him a short smile as she made her way towards the next room to search for her brother.

Sighing, Shikamaru watched her go; they weren't quite there yet- he wasn't asking him for permission but he was spending time with the Kazekage and getting to know him a little better. She wasn't calling Chouji her brother but she was telling him stories and advising him on Ino. He wasn't sleeping in the same tent but he was waking up in the middle of the night to check she was okay. She wasn't telling him how she felt but she was cutting his hair.

They weren't admitting they were in love...but they were getting there.

* * *

So hello everyone! Feels like its been forever, lol. Uni has been very busy right now but I've been wanting to write for ages, so I allowed myself a little drabble to keep myself going. I've had a few emails asking about Slave- no I have not given up on it!- I just don't have the time to get back to it but I promise I will.

On another note, I've another idea for a huge long one shot which I'm super excited about- hopefully I'll be able to type it up and get it out before January :)

Either way, thanks for your continued reviews, favs, and alerts- they are very encouraging to see in my lil old inbox.

Hope life is treating you well!

SP7

**REVIEW!**

P.S. I realise there were very few to no spoilers in that but just in case! ;)


	13. The Good Wife

Inspired by; _MavisBeacon _request for ShikaTema office romance. Heavily influenced by The Good Wife

* * *

She wasn't sure how she was supposed to be feeling at this time of night. Maybe she was just more irritable that usual because of her work load and the lateness of the hour but for whatever reason the dim buzzing of her office lamp combined with the annoying scraping sound the file cabinet made every time she opened and closed it was setting her teeth on edge.

They had settled today.

In one way it was good because it was what the client wanted and her fee was paid already regardless of the outcome of the case but still...

When suing for sexual assault- there was something that made Temari want to drag the asshole up into the stand and lay into him for every insignificant courtroom clerk to see.

She knew she was the only one left at the office. The clock read 12.00am and all the senior partners would be away home; back to their wives...girlfriends or ladies of 'other' distinction. But she had been handed a case where gross medical negligence had left a man brain damaged as soon as she'd stepped out of court and it was due to be heard in the morning.

Some things just had to be done.

Rubbing her forehead, she mentally noted that she had already phoned her mother-in-law to say she wouldn't be home until late.

Her eyes caught sight of the one photo adorning her brief laden desk and she smiled momentarily at the image of her children beaming up at the camera.

The frame had once contained the four of them.

She had replaced it after he'd been convicted. Looking at him all day wasn't helping her any. If anything, it was only making it worse. Every secretary in the building couldn't help but glance around nervously to see if she'd stuck a pin through his face or ripped him out of the picture completely. Replacing the photo altogether was just easier. It made sense; especially now that the kids were older.

She was updating.

A small chime sounded on her mobile phone.

12.15am.

She had begun a pattern of setting the alarm on her phone for every fifteen minutes. At this late hour she was liable to daydream if not startled every once in a while.

"_Do you mind if I join you? I've been trying to figure out this judgment and it's driving me crazy." _

"_Is that Wilsons? Don't bother asking me, he may as well be speaking Yiddish." _

12.16am...

Her stomach clenched uneasily remembering three nights ago...at this hour.

"_It bothers you that they all walk around this place in tiny skirts? I thought you'd love it."_

"_Hey, not every guy want to see that when he's trying to work."_

"_Yeah right."_

"_I'm serious. I don't even look. They're all idiots anyways...and why are you pouring me more whiskey?"_

"_I'm trying to get you drunk. Wise ass. I'm being generous."_

Shaking herself free of the memory and the sweaty palms it brought her, Temari refocused her attention on the brief before her.

'_It is not conclusive that the use of anaesthesia in the aforementioned manner contributed to the claimant's injury however several medical experts in the field including Dr...'_

"I thought I was the only one still here."

The sound of the quiet, dry voice filling the room did little to startle Temari but her palms clenched involuntarily.

"The McKean case is up tomorrow," she explained calmly, not looking up from her file- already knowing that he was leaning heavily against the glass door frame.

"Anderson put you on that?"

She nodded sparingly.

He made a noise of acceptance in the back of his throat.

"_Oh please, they all think I'm some basket case. Another idiotic woman who couldn't satisfy her husband. I know what they're saying." _

"_I haven't heard one person say that..."_

_She scoffed. _

"_I'm telling the truth. Every guy I've heard talk about it only says what an asshole he was, cheating on someone like you." _

"He said he was going to offer it to..."

"Well he gave it to me," she cut in sharply, aware that the longer he stood there talking, the longer it was before she got home.

"_I don't care, you know. Thankfully I'm past that stage in my life when I need the attention of men to satisfy me." _

"_Doesn't stop you getting it though."_

_She smirked. _

"_As if every guy in this office isn't looking at those twenty year olds..."_

The more dangerous the conversation got.

"_I'm not."_

She heard him swallow.

"I haven't seen you these past two days," he tried, rubbing the back of his head as the stench of tobacco finally reached her nose. He must have been litigating today, she noted inwardly. He always smoked more when he was under pressure. "Ill?"

"Dylan was," Temari answered, giving in and leaning back in her chair, still avoiding his gaze. "Flu."

_His hands slipped under her skirt as he pressed her further into the wall, nipping at her neck as her moans filled the office. _

"_I knew you were trying to get me drunk," he whispered against her ear, his fingers rubbing at her inner thigh. _

"_You wish, Nara," she practically whimpered, desperately holding back the voice in her head that was dying to tell him to go faster. _

He moved towards her.

"Don't sit," she almost pleaded as he ignored her and pulled out the chair anyways. "Please...don't sit."

He sat.

"_God woman, you have no idea...how much...how much I..."_

_She kissed him to shut him up, revelling in the feel of his warm body pressed firmly against hers as she began to undo the buttons on his shirt. _

"I get that you have a heavy case load at the minute..." he began unsurely, his brown eyes scanning her uncomfortably.

"No," Temari interjected, hoping to drive the point home without any awkward conversation, "I have a heavy case load as well as two kids and a mother-in-law and a household to run," she pressed meaningfully, deciding that this was going nowhere and beginning to pack away her files.

"You're ignoring the issue," he said evenly and she wondered as his calmness.

"I'm ignoring nothing," she replied as steadily as she could manage. "There's nothing _to_ ignore."

"We had sex," Shikamaru stated, standing up as she did.

She ignored the cold air that fluttered around her suddenly in a futile attempt at composure. Struggling to remain silent, she bit her lip, feeling her cheeks redden in the need for argument. The need to have it all out in the open.

_Sliding her back onto the desk, he helped her throw off her shirt, his eyes momentarily scanning her breasts before a blush settled across his cheeks. _

_Chuckling as she watched his fumbling movements, she nipped at his earlobe, her nips becoming bites as his hands ghosted over her exposed flesh, gripping and cupping greedily- taking everything they could. _

"Or have you forgotten?" he continued, his voice rising in volume as she shot him a look. "We had sex here," he slammed the desk, "and here," he added, moving over to bang his hand off of the file cabinet loudly, "and here..." he went on, coming behind her to rest his hands on her desk chair.

"_Shikamaru!" she cried out, one hand gripping the edge of the desk- knuckles turning white, the other gripping his hair as his tongue did unspeakable things to her body. _

_Panting heavily, her whimpers grew as she felt her body unwind- her release growing ever closer. _

"Shut up," she cut in feeling the pressure mounting in her chest as the memories flooded her mind's eye.

"Here as well," was the obnoxious continuation as he kicked the door closed.

"Shut up!" Temari hissed, finally managing to silence her aggressor as she moved to put the desk between them again.

Silence reigned for a few moments and nothing was heard but their heavy breathing as their eyes locked.

"I cheated on my husband," she relented finally, resisting the urge to sink back down into her chair, the weakness almost overcoming her knees.

"He cheated on you," Shikamaru shot back persistently, leaning forward in his refusal to lose sight of her eye line.

Steadily, she controlled her breathing.

Having spent the last six months listening to every gossip columnist and news anchor debate and splash the reasons for her husband's infidelity with several different prostitutes across the headlines, hearing the reality said aloud no longer had the same heartbreaking tinge it once had.

Reaching for her brief case, she began packing the papers away ignoring his growl of frustration.

"_Please...please," she groaned out, her head swaying from side to side as his body dipped and rose in front of her, his finger nails dragging down her thighs as he thrust himself deeper and deeper inside of her. _

"He is my husband," she repeated once more.

"He is a convicted felon and a cheat and a liar..."

"He is my husband," Temari interrupted loudly, refusing to listen to his spiel anymore. She was already aware of it anyways. "And father to my children," she added harshly, snatching the full brief case from her desk and moving towards the door. "And I love him."

"Love him?" Shikamaru all but spat, blocking her way to the exit. "Three nights ago you were screaming my name."

_He called out her name before biting into her shoulder as she thrust her hips forward. Grasping her thighs he pulled her forward, establishing his own rhythm- forcing her to move to his demands . _

"That meant nothing," she stated firmly, shoving him out of the way but he didn't give up without a fight. He opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. "You are ten years older than my son," she hissed, balking inwardly to acknowledge the fact, "and we work together and my husband will be out of jail once his appeal comes up. I won't deny my children their father."

Walking quickly towards the elevator she was relieved when she didn't hear any footsteps follow her.

"So that's it?" came his once more quiet call as she reached the elevator and almost willed it to appear. "He's your husband so even though he cheated on you and acted like you meant nothing and laundered more money than I'll ever make in my entire life, he still gets you? Just because he's your kid's father?"

Her heart lurched as the elevator arrived and she tried not to turn and move towards him- the first warmth she'd felt since her life had fallen apart.

_Even though I want you..._

She stepped inside the doors.

"Yeah," she heard herself say uncaringly, not even looking at him. "That's it."

The doors closed.

* * *

...They can't all end happily! lol

So I've started watching The Good Wife recently and this finally gave me the idea of _MavisBeacon's _request for which she has been waiting ages! Apologies for the long wait :) Either way, I'm kind of half shipping the main character and Matt Czurchy's character even though it's never going to happen and he's about ten years younger than her, lol. But it's still fun to dream.

On another note, I've decided I'm going to start replying to reviews again. It is incredibly rude of me not too and I have been really lax about it in recent years. I do really appreciate all the reviews I get and I think this is the best way to show it :)

Also- this is the final request I've received so hopefully I'm up to date- unless I've forgotten anyone, apologies if I haven't!- so get PM-ing again guys! :)

Finally, the next anecdote up will most likely be the continuation of My Completely Platonic House Guest- I've finally gotten inspiration for it so hopefully you won't be waiting too long!

Thanks for reading and please, as always

**REVIEW!**

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all who celebrate it :)

SP7


	14. Myoji

Inspired by; the fact that I'm going to Japan this summer- WOOHOO!- and my subsequent research into the country :D

* * *

The skin underneath her right eye began to twitch, and much to her displeasure, she was almost positive that everyone at their table in Ichiraku's had noticed to their own amusement.

But it was more the fact that the pompous git who had provoked the twitching, also had noticed and was currently smirking at her from across the table as he lackadaisically slurped up his noodles like the cat who'd gotten the proverbial cream.

She sighed in an attempt to maintain her cool; he already knew he'd won- that annoyed her enough- but as long as no one else at the table sensed his victory, Temari knew that she'd be able to resist killing him.

"I said it before," she began tentatively, her voice wavering with thick heat that she was struggling to mask, "so I'll say it again; it doesn't bother me in the slightest. And I don't see why it would."

Temari could see that all eyes were either on her or on her present interlocutor and she wished she could tell them all to bugger off and mind their own business, but she guessed he'd brought the subject up in front of a crowd for a reason- to annoy the living hell out of her.

And, he'd succeeded.

He blinked lazily at her, before setting down his chopsticks and leaning back in his seat.

"Because a family name is akin to defining who you are," Shikamaru said pointedly, his eyes not moving from her, his smirk fixed, although from the way Naruto and Hinata were hanging off his every word, you would think he was talking completely seriously, instead of saying all this to rile her up. "It links you to everyone you ever were, and everyone you ever will become. I just don't understand why it doesn't annoy you that you don't have one."

She felt her stomach jump again and as she cracked her knuckles, she took a deep inhalation- the steady fluctuation of air being the only thing keeping her calm right now.

"I told you already," Temari gritted out, her teeth biting into her bottom lip almost indecently. "It's _different_ in Suna. I don't have a last name because I come from the first family."

"...and everybody already knows who you are?" Kiba half finished for her, almost in a question as she nodded.

"Exactly. It's out of respect," she clarified further. "I can tell you with certainty that I am the only girl in Suna named Temari."

When Shikamaru didn't look satisfied with her explanation, the eyes in the group drifted back to him as though waiting for him to volley the ball back to her.

"So you don't feel like you are missing anything?" he asked with even more force, his eyes flashing in challenge as she regretted leaving her fan at home. He really was asking for it today. "I mean, not even that sense of connection to your past?"

She opened her mouth to rebut, but he cut her off once more.

"Because you can ask anyone you want to," Shikamaru went on, gesturing to their packed booth. "Their family name _means _something to them. For me, it's my heritage; the farm, the deer we've raised there- on our land- for centuries..."

"It's my markings for me," Chouji cut in pleasantly, as Shikamaru looked satisfied. "You can trace the patterns we use back centuries."

"I suppose I wouldn't really have Akamaru if it wasn't for my family name," Kiba interjected conversationally, after taking a sip of his drink. "Inuzuka's kept our traditions going for as long as anyone in our family can remember."

"And we'd be here all day if we went into Neji and Hinata's connections," Shikamaru resumed, nodding briefly at each he had named. "So, you see what I mean, don't you? You don't have any of that."

She wondered what she had done to force him to be so deliberately provocative today- it was hardly an unknown history that she shared with her family- but she was sticking to historical reasons for her lack of family name. In other words, her rank.

"In the first place," Temari responded coolly, "my family doesn't share any special jutsu. We are independent enough to secure our own techniques without any genes," she went on, now sounding as irritated as she actually was. "Secondly, _like I said before, _there is no need for us to label our land. Everyone in Suna knows it's our land. They know they'd be killed if they even set a toe on it. They know it belonged to my father and his before him and his before him. _It's common knowledge_. You would have had to have lived underneath a sand dune not to know my ancestor's history."

The force with which she responded obviously pleased Shikamaru, as the smirk still played about the corners of his mouth; to all but them it would have looked like a normal argument between the two.

But she knew better; she knew there was a purpose to all his seemingly pointless barracking. She was just struggling to see what it was.

It put her in mind of one of their frequent shogi games- he was letting her make all the moves. Dragging her into a trap he had set in his head, twenty moves in advance- the smirk was the giveaway. He only wore it quite so perfectly whenever he knew he had won before she had even lifted a finger to defend herself.

It was classic Shikamaru; all ease and no ceremony. Let others do the work; all he had to do, was wait.

He gave a little shrug and a dimple appeared at the left side of his mouth- she wondered if he was straining himself with all that grinning.

"I can see what he means," Ino mitigated, as Temari groaned inwardly, knowing that now he had everyone on his side and she'd never hear the end of it. "I mean, don't you feel like you've nothing connecting you to your brothers? You may as well be strangers!"

"It isn't enough that I have their blood running through my veins?" she deadpanned, her eyes ignoring all but his.

In reality, the impasse they had reached had her mind buzzing. She wondered inwardly if this ridiculous conversation had come about due to the fact that they were no longer speaking and he had done this just to get her to talk to him again.

Their argument three nights ago had been of epic proportions.

Worse- it had revealed much more than it had protected.

It wasn't as though there was nothing between them- neither of them were stupid enough to believe that. And they have long since passed the stage of trying to convince the other that it was one-sided.

But still...nothing had happened.

And Temari- never one to be patient- had gotten sick of waiting.

She hadn't said it in so many words or maybe she had...? The fight had gotten so heated she couldn't remember everything she'd said- but either way, she ended up admitting more than he had.

For some reason, after so many years, he still wouldn't confess it. Even though they both knew.

And now they had reached this; the place where they were sitting, eating dinner, surrounded by all their friends, acting as though nothing had happened and yet still having some sort of inward conversation. It was so _them_ it almost hurt.

"Well, I don't really see why it matters," came Tenten's contribution as Temari jolted back to life and it occurred to her that she had been staring at him uninterruptedly for too long.

"It matters for all the reasons Shikamaru just said," Neji decided to respond pedantically, as Temari rolled her eyes; now he had the whole group involved. "Your family name is who you are."

"And because I have no family name, I am nobody?" Temari challenged with energy, deciding that if he wanted to involve everyone then she'd let him.

"Precisely," Shikamaru answered quickly, before Neji could and she felt herself flush with rage. If Ino hadn't flung a chopstick at him in that moment, Temari would have emptied her soup bowl over his head.

"That's not what we're saying," Ino quickly mitigated, glaring at all involved. "Just that our family names mean a lot to us...but we're not saying that you are any less..."

"It's what I'm saying," Shikamaru cut in lowly, and the back snapped underneath the straw's weight.

"Alright, Nara, what the hell is wrong with you today?" Temari spat, no longer able to bear the snide look on his features. "Did your mother yell at you extra loudly this morning or is there another reason you're acting like such an asshole?"

Silence reigned over the group and all that was heard was her heavy breathing. Although, Temari could hear his smirk blaring in her ears louder than any sound that actually echoed.

"No," he began quietly, his eyes still watching her with an infuriating calm, "I'm just trying to decipher why it means so little to you that you don't have a surname."

She blinked. And then sighed.

"Because I never had one," she tried for the final time, hoping to make an impact once and for all. "You can't mourn what you never had."

She hadn't meant it to sound weak; but somehow, it did.

"In that case," he went on with equal silence, leaning forward over his own bowl to watch her with an intensity that made her feel slightly queasy, "would you like mine?"

The silence somehow became louder.

"I'm sorry?" she all but whispered.

"I was wondering, if you'd like my last name?"

Game.

Set.

Tsumi.


	15. Work

Inspired by; _Work_ by The Saturdays

* * *

She'd never been an idiot; from an early age, she'd always been aware of her 'appeal'...or her effect on the opposite sex.

Not that she was the kind of girl who batted those big beautiful blues to get free candy from a street vendor...or, as she got older, a free drink at a bar.

On the contrary, Temari always paid her own way.

But she knew how to get what she wanted from people. Whether that be the best S-Classes from Gaara because _he_ knew how unbearable she could be if she didn't get her way, or three hours of uninterrupted silence from Kankuro because he knew, how if she wanted to, she could yell louder than he could any day of the week.

She never did it pettily, or enforced her ways likely. She only forced Gaara's hands over the missions because she knew she could do them better than anyone else. She only made Kankuro shut up for three hours every week because he spent the rest of the time talking nonstop.

And so she was only making Nara Shikamaru become a jounin, because she knew that in the end, his village couldn't succeed without him.

...that and it was beyond ridiculous that she would date a chunin.

And Temari wanted to date Shikamaru...so a little _persuasion_ on her behalf was completely justified.

_Baby the harder you work_

_The further you get with me, with me_

_I think you can, I think you can._

It amused her quite frequently, to think of how good the boy was at shougi, and yet he still couldn't see that she was pushing him all over her own board; moving him in the direction she needed him to go to make sure that he was the kind of man she deserved.

_Turn up prepared and make sure_

_That you can keep up with me, with me_

_I think you can, I think you can. _

She had started out quite simply; she had warned him at first that he had to hurry up and get promoted. Of course she hadn't said he needed to do it because she was the prize at the end- if she'd told him that bluntly he would have flat out denied his feelings for her due to embarrassment.

Not that she would have believed him either way- she could see him looking at her whenever her head was turned away. That and the small stain of red that appeared on his cheeks whenever Kiba chatted her up for the fifth time.

But she had to be careful with her intentions; if she pushed him too far too fast, he'd only end up giving up out of sheer annoyance. So she began with a little push.

_But be aware, I always get what I deserve_

_Keep your focus, keep your nerve._

_Ready, set, go._

It had come to Temari's attention, during the course of her stay in Konoha, how nice it would be to have some breakfast before her early morning meetings. The problem was her day began at 9am and she never had time to make herself any. Nor did she have much time to go about getting some.

So when she stumbled across the notion of how nice it would be if Shikamaru were to show up at her door with her breakfast already in hand, Temari decided that the arrangement could be easily implemented.

Taking a little extra time out of her morning routine, Temari and her faithful guide trotted round to a coffee stand before her meeting was due to begin. She had gambled on the server being a male...and she was right.

"A black coffee and a blueberry muffin to go, please," she said pleasantly to the server, with what could be described as a 'friendly' smile. She knew her plan was working whenever she felt Shikamaru stiffen beside her at the responding smile the boy gave her back.

"That's a nice accent," the server replied with a smirk, bagging the baked good and placing it on the counter. "Where abouts are you from?"

Flashing a wider smile, Temari slowly dragged the paper bag down from the counter and pulled out the muffin.

"Why don't you guess?" Temari answered lowly, picking off a bit of the muffin with her finger and eating it slowly; unable to help herself from smiling when she heard Shikamaru give a long, slow exhale.

The server leant forward on the counter.

"I'd say...Suna," the boy guessed, as Temari took a step forward to the counter.

With a small laugh, she nodded and smiled as the boy grinned back at her.

"Figures," he went on. "All the hot girls are from Suna."

"Funny," Temari quipped, now taking hold of her coffee. "That's what I say about boys and Konoha."

Both of them jumped when Shikamaru slammed the change down on the counter.

"You're going to be late for your meeting," he gritted, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her away from the stand.

_Pick up the pace and step on it,_

_Rip up the place if you want it,_

_Work, work, you know you gotta work, work._

_I got the goods and I want you,_

_Put your boots on, baby get to_

_Work, work, you know you gotta work, work._

The next morning, he turned up at her doorstep with coffee and a muffin in hand.

_I tend to get what I want so_

_Are you starting to see, to see?_

_I think you do, I think you do._

After the success of organising breakfast, Temari decided it was time to move onto something bigger. After being assured in no small terms by Ino that Shikamaru would not _ever_ go out dancing with the rest of the Konoha crowd- he found it 'troublesome' shockingly- Temari decided that that trait needed to be rectified immediately.

"Are you sure you won't come?" she called from her bedroom, not quite sure that Shikamaru hadn't fallen asleep on the couch.

"I'd rather die a slow, painful death," he droned and she couldn't help but smile as she fixed on her earrings and eyed herself in the mirror.

"It's your loss," Temari answered lightly, emerging from her room and holding back a smirk whenever his eyes widened and then narrowed as they caught sight of her.

"_That's_ what you're wearing?" he queried forcefully, sitting up and giving her the most odd look; something between desire and constrained anger.

"Yup," she said cheerfully, slipping on her heels as she stood at the door. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, Nara," she finished, pulling on her jacket, happy in the knowledge that his eyes followed her the whole way out of the apartment.

_It's time for you to step up_

_If you want to be with me, with me._

_I think you do, I think you do._

She tried not to show the successful grin she wanted to whenever he appeared at the door of the club. Luckily, she had timed it just right so she was dancing with some civilian guy whenever he showed up. And when his hand grasped her arm and pulled her away from the guy she was dancing with, it was all she could do not to force her success in getting Shikamaru to a club into Ino's face.

"You're making a spectacle of yourself," he hissed in her ear, clearly not noticing how close they were now pressed to one another.

She let out a laugh.

"I am not, Nara," she responded, looping her arms around his neck as she pulled his head forward to get at his ear. "Lighten up..."

Stomach jumping as his hands went for her hips unconsciously; she slowly pulled him in beat with the music.

"What would your brothers say if they saw you?" Shikamaru asked bitterly, still writhing in the scene of her dancing with that man- still oblivious to his own predicament.

"They'd probably wonder why I'm slow dancing with Nara Shikamaru," she answered into his ear as he jumped a little, his gaze moving downwards finally realising their happy situation.

She held back a laugh whenever he remained silent.

He didn't stop moving though.

"Hey, Nara," she whispered into his ear, letting her nose rub against his neck. "Fancy making a spectacle of ourselves?"

_But don't go slow, that is not the way we play,_

_Slowly ain't my kinda game._

_Ready, set, go._

It was a slow minute as his hands tightened on her waist and he swallowed whenever she leant her head on his shoulder.

_Pick up the pace and step on it,_

_Rip up the place if you want it,_

_Work, work, you know you gotta work, work._

_I got the goods and I want you,_

_Put your boots on, baby get to_

_Work, work, you know you gotta work, work._

And so it was that she began to move him in the little ways she needed; she made sure she only trained with male partners and suddenly, Shikamaru started to turn up to train with her.

It made her smile to think of it, and it was the only thought keeping her going as they approached the gates of Konoha before she began her trip home. A trip that was bothering her more than she would've liked to admit.

_And, it's up to you how far we take this,_

_Yes it's up to you so take the lead._

_And it's up to you, so tell me what I gotta sign,_

_Waiting at the finish line, baby ready, set, go. _

"You need to become a jounin," she said with a little more power than she had the last time and he started again, exactly as he had done before.

"Why?" he responded, sounding a little annoyed as his hand went behind his head.

"Because I don't date chunin," Temari stated with finality, looking him square in the eyes.

_Pick up the pace and step on it,_

_Rip up the place if you want it,_

_Work, work, you know you gotta work, work._

She knew he had relented when she heard him mutter 'troublesome' and begin to study his feet.

Deciding that he deserved a little something for his 'trouble', she pressed a quick but meaningful kiss to his lips, smirking when he froze up.

"Alright, woman..." he said after a sigh as his hands found their way to her waist, "if it means..." He broke off here, and she didn't wait to find out if he meant to finish with 'that much to you' or 'I get to date you'.

"It does," she cut in, extricating herself from his arms with no small amount of reluctance and a small smile to him as she walked backwards to the gate.

_I got the goods and I want you,_

_Put your boots on, baby get to_

_Work, work, you know you gotta work, work._

It was as she turned her back to him that she realised that she actually wouldn't mind seeing him again before she returned to Konoha.

"Oh and Nara?" she called over her shoulder, "be quick about it. There are a lot of jounin in Suna, you know."

_Pick up the pace and step on it,_

_Rip up the place if you want it,_

_Work, work, you know you gotta work, work._

_I got the goods and I want you,_

_Put your boots on, baby get to_

_Work, work, you know you gotta work, work._

Two weeks later she received a photocopy of a jounin certificate in the post and a letter to say he would see her in three days time.

_You know you gotta work, work._

* * *

Ok, so I know most people's ShikaTema song is Meet Me Halfway by BEP and I can see a certain affinity between the pairing and the song but for me personally, my shikatema song has always been Work by The Saturdays. I think it portrays Temari's attitude to Shikamaru's laziness very well. Plus it's an awesome song, lol. My other shikatema song is Summerboy by Lady Gaga; again, it reminds me of something Temari might say to Shikamaru, so you may see an anecdote relating to that song soon enough, lol. On a somewhat related note, my Sandsibs songs are America's Sweethearts and I Don't Care both by Fall Out Boy- the lines 'I'm in love with my own sins' and 'I don't care what you think as long as it's about me' just have Suna awesomeness written all over them!

Having said that I'm not entirely happy with this anecdote. I don't feel like it has the 'pop' that the song does but I've written and rewritten it about five times and this was what the best result was. I apologise if it's not my usual standards :)

Finally, speaking of Meet Me Halfway, I have tried _several _times to write a shikatema anecdote to that song but for some reason, I just can't do it. It's very odd for me that I have severe writers block regarding that song, lol.

Also, if you have any shikatema songs, let me know in your reviews! It'd be nice to listen to other people's recommendations.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

**REVIEW!**

SP7


	16. Eyes Wide Open

Inspired by; _Grenade _by Bruno Mars

* * *

"Are you alright?"

The soft voice jolts him out of his reverie; he had been staring into the rain wondering if it was supposed to make him feel like this- completely powerless- or if it was just a natural response to his lack of control.

He sighs.

"Yeah," he responds drearily, not even sure how he is supposed to continue. A cigarette is a possibility but then even that seems like so much work. "You?" he queries, only to keep focus off of himself, but he couldn't have picked a worse person to try and distract himself with.

"No."

Her voice comes out high and wavering and he doesn't want to look over his shoulder at her because he can tell from the thickness that she is crying.

Crying women always made him feel uneasy but this one in particular will send him reeling if he acknowledges her upset- she is such a stark reminder of why he has been rendered inactive; stuck sitting on the edge of his parent's porch watching the rain fall with such intensity that the mist it creates will remain for days.

A shuffle of movement is all he can hear but for the fall of water and then she is sitting beside him. Not that close...she would have to move several more inches for their shoulders to be touching but he can see the reflection of her eyes in the puddles.

He swallows.

If he could object...ask her to leave, he knows she would. But her sniffles make him feel so many conflicting emotions that he's not even sure he can speak. He is torn...torn between the discussion he knows they _must_ have and the resilience in him that hardens with every glance at either a tear or a raindrop.

The topic will be raised between them- she will not allow an ignorance to be created and she wouldn't have come here if she had been intent on silence.

Pity fills him as this thought appears. After all who else does she have to talk to? Her family are all but gone. The only one left is him.

The mist has moved a little further, he notes, feeling the square cardboard cigarette box heavy in his pocket. The craving is stronger now but he wonders if it's her presence or his fervent wish to forget that is causing the development.

If he smokes he'll have to offer her one.

But she would decline.

Deciding that he'll risk it, he pops the box open and slides a stick out. The wood on the porch is damp and the stench the rain has created rises up as he ignites his lighter.

She says nothing as he moves.

He takes a drag and watches as the smoke dissipates into the mist as though it was never there at all.

"I wish..." her fragile voice begins after her sharp intake of breath- the sound still wavers into the air and he has to stop her.

"I know," he replies leaning his head forward which thankfully obscures her reflection and all sight of the clouds.

"You don't want to talk about it?" she queries bitterly but the delicate nature of her voice destroys any formidable quality the question may have had.

He sighs again and forces himself to look up.

"Does that matter?"

He wishes she would just cry- he could be happy if she would just sit there and cry. Her external despair would provide a fitting partner to his internal trappings. But she is determined to bring out his pain...and he is determined not to feel it.

"I just...just...I just want this to be a dream so badly," she says through a fresh wave of tears, her head falling forward after a sob.

Nausea hits him like a kick in the stomach and all of a sudden his cigarette is rendered useless so he flicks it out into the rain.

"This was never supposed to happen," is her next remark, the tears falling fast to such an extent that she is all but blubbing; it is a stark reminder of absence.

He wants to tell her to _shut up_ so badly- he could scream it at her right now, but with her it will just provoke more tears.

"What do you want me to say?" he drones, hoping that she will offer up some remark that will bring this conversation to a close.

When she gives no answer, he does the only thing he knows. When Ino is crying she generally looks for some comfort, so he stretches his arm up and around her shoulders just enough so that she is pulled a little closer but not so much that their sides are touching.

In this rain she smells of chestnut and water but he keeps that to himself. He smells chestnut and water when he wants to smell orchid and heat in the air.

Her body shakes with weeping as she leans against him, mumbling incoherent accounts that he cannot be bothered to make out- it will only give him more fodder for thought when at this moment, he wants none.

"Tell me what we're going to do," she answers finally, her weeping subsided a little as she sits up and turns towards him, her face reddened with grief- the true purpose of her visit emerging. "There has to be something...

"There is nothing," he states, looking off to the hills in the distance, wondering if he will ever be bothered to go walking again.

He shakes that thought off as absurd- of course he will.

"But there must be..."

At her further insistence, his patience for her weakness breaks and he pushes her shoulders away to allow him to stand.

Leaning against the pillars of his house, he closes his eyes.

If she would only shut up.

"I know you don't want to hear this..." she mumbles idiotically, her eyes boring a hole in his back as his fists clench and he struggles to keep his calm, "...but in three months time when it's too late, if we've done nothing, we'll be kicking ourselves."

He wants to tell her that this isn't his problem. It isn't her problem either. In fact the whole thing is so wholly out of their realm of control it's almost amusing.

As if they could go against the Kazekage. As if either of them has a hope of toppling an idea which he has cooked up...which _everyone_ has consented to.

That thought burns in his head.

"Please...you're so good at strategizing," she carries on with a plead in her voice and she shuffles closer to his bent figure but remains seated. "They can't do it for themselves...we have to..."

He wishes she had just left it alone.

"Would you just shut up?" he grits out finally, swinging round to tower over her because if she doesn't stop talking he's going to toss her off his porch. He meets her round hazel eyes, bloody with tears and he sees the revolt live and die within them in the space of a second. She doesn't have the strength anymore...he understands that. It had left him long ago.

"You have to help," she insists.

"I have to do _nothing_," he bites back, his knuckles grating against the damp wood of his house as he moves his gaze to the mud now forming in the street. "Nothing is going to happen. Everything that can happen has happened and we have _nothing_ to do with it, alright?"

The aggression left in him has finally swept through to his posture and he feels his shoulders hunch. She continues to gaze up at him as thought expecting him to confess- to scream to the air that he has been wronged, that his life has been ripped out of his hands- his path has been contorted all for the sake of a few diplomats that know nothing of the real workings of _their_ lives, _their _plans.

He will say nothing of the sort. Because it isn't true...because there was nothing there. He is man enough to admit that. Although, for them, he thinks with a shudder, it may have been different.

He's almost certain it was or she wouldn't be acting like this.

Or maybe he is just better at control.

The tears are rolling down her cheeks but he cannot feel sorrow for her. She refused to leave him alone...she should have.

"Why are you acting like it doesn't matter?" she asks with desperation, her eyes darting everywhere in panic. She has lost her only ally.

"Because it doesn't," he replies with resignation, knowing that she will never listen to him no matter how many times he rebuts. She opens her mouth to challenge but he continues over her. "Ask yourself if it does, really? What has happened here? They are getting married. That's all!"

Her nose scrunches and her mouth drops as though he has just suggested some blasphemous thought and she looks at him in wonder.

"How can you say that? You love her!"

"Because it's true!" he thunders out into the air, knowing that the yell is masked by the heavy fall of the rain and ignoring the last part of her sentence though it sends a jolt of lightning straight through to his heart.

He manages to control his voice before it breaks. "He asked, she said yes! They are just another couple whose lives will carry on once they get married. They will have kids, grow old together and die. That's it. Their lives will continue."

She flinches visibly at the mention of children as though this opens a whole new arena of problems that had never occurred to her.

"He loves me," she mumbles as though it will shatter everything he has just said.

He scoffs.

"No he doesn't," comes his next barb, so pointed she barely reacts to it at all. "If he loved you, he wouldn't be marrying her."

"He's being forced to," she mitigates, scrambling onto her knees to stand beside him.

He swears aloud hoping that she'll hear and catch on that he isn't going to offer her any comfort. He doesn't have it in him to.

"Get a grip," he forces on, turning towards her to face her for the first time. "He could say no."

"He would never..."

"_But he_ _could!..._if he wanted to he could," he tells her with honesty, knowing that the same thought is true of her too. If she wanted to, she could. "If he loved you, he would."

It occurs to him as he meets her eyes that this is cruel. He is disillusioning her to such a degree that all his friends would scold him...she would too.

But at this moment he finds it hard to care. It is not _he_ who has abandoned her. It isn't him who made her all sorts of promises and then broke them as though they were never spoken at all.

She is still standing there. And he can still feel her hope, dim as it may be.

If he destroys it, she will leave. Leave him alone to his thoughts and his cigarettes. Right now, that is all he wants.

"He doesn't love you, Ten Ten," Shikamaru adds, ignoring her weeps of pain. She will feel them all in a couple more months' time anyways. "They are the ultimate power couple," he half jokes bitterly, thinking of what the pair of them could accomplish together. "They will unite Konoha and Suna forever and the whole country wants it to happen...including them."

He thinks he sees a flash of her eyes in the grey rain; beautiful and blue against the dreary sky. But then they disappear...an illusion that he only half thought was there anyways.

In his head, he knew they couldn't possibly be. He is angry for allowing himself that half-belief.

"We?...we are nothing to them because we are no one," is his final remark on the matter before she runs away in despair. "And it never would have been any different. Not everyone gets a happy ending."

_But at least she will._

* * *

To be honest, Bruno Mars isn't really my kind of music but I was watching the music channels whilst studying- ahem,- and Grenade came on. And thus; this anecdote. And only the second one not to have included Temari!

Anywho- I rarely write angst so hopefully this came off alright- hope you all enjoy it!

**REVIEW!**

SP7


	17. Wonder Woman

Inspired by; that scene in The O.C. when Seth can't decide between Summer and Anna.

* * *

A day that had started off badly for Nara Shikamaru somehow ended up getting progressively worse as the hours wore on. Finding himself completely unable to deal with the day's events, he fled to his usual hill- secreting himself there until he could even comprehend of a way to deal with the situation; and it was there that she found him.

"You look terrible."

Inwardly noting that had it been any other day but today, he would have come up with some smart rebuttal, but given the current circumstances, he barely registered that he'd been insulted.

"Alright, what's wrong?" came her next query, as she settled herself beside him, her upward position casting a shadow upon his reclining figure.

Even as he thought about what was annoying him, a deep groan escaped his chest, and he closed his eyes once more whilst wishing for the fiftieth time this evening that this whole sorry saga would just disappear. Noting the difference between her and the girl who was currently providing the source of his troubles- well at least one of them anyways- Shikamaru was grateful that she didn't push; she merely sat there, her arms looped around her knees with her gaze directed upwards at the setting sun.

"Ino told me she liked me," he confessed finally, wincing even as he said the words aloud.

Temari's head turned quickly and she looked down at him with a mildly stunned expression.

"Wow," she said after a period of consideration before breaking into an impressed smile. "Didn't see that coming."

"Yeah, neither did I," Shikamaru grumbled coarsely, wondering why he was annoyed at her smile. "Which is why when Shiho told me the same thing two hours later, I started to wonder what else I've been missing around here."

Letting out a bark of laughter into the air, Temari continued to grin.

"I know you are a guy but there's no way even you are that oblivious," she remarked knowingly.

"I didn't bank on her finally getting some courage," he protested weakly, managing to keep in another groan.

"So?"

"So what?"

"So what are you going to do?"

"I have no idea," Shikamaru breathed truthfully, rubbing his head in hopes of alleviating the tension there.

"Well, do you like either of them?" Temari pressed casually, beginning to pull all the ties out of her hair.

"I have no idea," he repeated tragically, wishing above anything that he knew the answer to that question. "When they were looking for an answer I just mumbled something and ran away."

Laughing again, she seemed to manage an expression of bemused sympathy as she shook out her hair and started to part the tendrils into sections.

"So we'll start at the beginning," she commanded distractedly, seemingly more focussed on her hair. "Would you want to date either of them?"

Caught between repeating himself for a third time and banging his head off the ground, Shikamaru remained silent.

"How about Ino?"

He considered the option for a moment, still unable to come to a decision.

"Well, could you imagine calling her your girlfriend, holding her hand, kissing her…"

A shiver ran down his spine as the images flashed into his head and his stomach jumped in repulsion.

"No," he cut off firmly, shaking his head- his eyes scrunched closed. "No way. Too weird. Way too weird."

"Why?" Temari laughed, snapping a band around a ponytail.

"It just is," he answered vaguely. "Ino…Ino is my friend. I just…I mean, her as anything else? I can't…"

Listening to his gibberish faithfully, Temari cut him off when it appeared he had run out of semi-coherent thought.

"There isn't anything about her that appeals to you?"

"…she's pretty," he conceded half-heartedly, staring up at the cloudless sky. "…and she knows me. Maybe I'm being stubborn…I do that sometimes."

"God, this thing really has messed you up," Temari commented knowingly. "Enough with the psychological introspective, Nara; it's not that hard of a question."

"I don't know if I'm ignoring her because I genuinely don't like her or because it's too troublesome to comprehend a relationship with her."

Re-tying the band around the third ponytail, Temari tapped her foot in thought.

"Well, how would you feel if someone else asked her out?"

Furrowing his brow in concentration, Shikamaru felt the urge to move into his thinking position.

"…fine," he said after a while, coming to the realisation after he imagined her dating Chouji or some other nin and he wasn't at all bothered by the thought.

"Now, we're getting somewhere," Temari forged on, happy with their progress. "So, Shiho?"

He thumped his head off the ground again.

"That was officially the most awkward moment of my life," he moaned, recalling her face as she'd asked him to sit down, nearly split tea all over his trousers and then her face as he'd bolted.

"Could you see her as your girlfriend?" she asked after a cackle at his expense.

Swallowing, Shikamaru resumed his mental position inside his head. He thought of kissing her, holding her…marrying her.

"She's the one," he told her, knowing Temari would recall one of their earlier conversations. "She's not too pretty, not too plain, not troublesome…"

"That is true," Temari agreed, finishing with her hair and leaning forward away from him. "But that doesn't answer my question…could you imagine spending the next forty years with her by your side?"

"I think I'd die of boredom," he replied, letting his gut take over as his head finally acknowledged what his instincts already knew. "She's a nice girl but…although, she is what I've always wanted," Shikamaru went on, jumping thought streams mid-sentence, "why would I change my mind now?"

"Why indeed?"

Shutting his eyes again, Shikamaru gritted his teeth.

"Why did they have to tell me?" he lamented, shoving his foot downwards and into the ground. "Why couldn't they just have stayed silent?"

"Because they are afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of someone else beating them to the punch," Temari explained blithely. "They don't want anyone else attracting your attention first."

Letting out a sarcastic snort, Shikamaru tilted his head to eye Temari with derision.

"That plan of attack worked very well. All it did was make me want to tear my hair out."

"Oh stop being such a baby, Nara," Temari rebutted gently. "It's a simple enough question. Who do you like?"

Another groan followed as his head tried to solve the question again.

"I don't know," he said forcefully, cursing his own indecision. "I do not know."

A surprisingly high pitched laugh escaped the blonde.

"Me."

"I'm sorry?" he queried, still concentrating on the other question.

"Me. You like me," she repeated calmly, her head still watching the sky as his snapped towards her figure. Smiling as she turned to look down on his incredulous expression, Temari laughed again. "Sorry to add to your burdens, but you know, I've never been one to keep quiet."

"W-w-what do you mean?" Shikamaru stuttered, still unable to process the words coming out of her mouth.

"I mean you like me. You want to date me, Nara," Temari enlightened him, as though she were commenting on the weather. "Just thought you should know."

"Okay, I don't know what you've been…"

"There's no point trying to deny it," she interrupted him, returning her eyes to the above, "I see the way you look at me."

"Well that's good, because I don't!" he yelped back, sitting up to come level with her. "I don't like you."

"You do."

"_I don't." _

He should have known something was up whenever she didn't reply immediately; instead, she rolled her eyes, dusted off her hands and in one swift movement, she slammed his torso to the ground and climbed on top of him, her legs either side of his waist.

"What are you…?"

She cut him off once more as she lowered her body flat along his and pressed her lips against his own; throwing her hands into his hair, she lengthened herself along his body, forcing his submission as he lay there and kissed her, completely unable to think.

Finally, all he had a sense of was that her lips were gone, he was still flattened into the ground breathing heavily and she was once more sitting beside him as though nothing had happened.

"Told you," she said, sounding pleased with herself.

Wholly powerless against his own physical responses, Shikamaru lay there, blinking stupidly and wondering what the hell had just happened.

"I like you," he breathed, when it finally dawned on him that the block against ever saying yes to Ino or Shiho had been her. And dear God, she had just kissed him and if she didn't do it again soon he wasn't sure he'd survive.

"Yup."

"I can see you as my girlfriend…"

"It is the unfortunate reality."

"Why is it unfortunate?" he asked worriedly, sitting up quickly; all these new found emotions banging about his head and he longed for the morning again when he knew nothing of all this.

"Well, I haven't said I liked you," she answered smoothly, examining her nails after a sigh.

The reply stunned him into a ridiculous silence and he sat there with his mouth open.

"B-b-but you just kissed me," he hissed, trying to get her to look at him.

"That was to help you out," Temari clarified bluntly, as she turned towards him and it struck him all of a sudden that she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. "You were confused and deluded. I enlightened you."

As the words sunk in, Shikamaru felt the wind leave him and he had to lie down again.

"Oh don't worry, it'll probably be you," she consoled, patting him on the hand after he began to rub his head in frustration.

"What will?"

"Who I choose."

"…I'm sorry?"

"Kiba asked me out," she said simply, lying down on her back as he shot up.

"What?"

"He asked me out. I said I needed time to think about it."

Not trusting himself to contain the need to find Kiba and punch the living daylights out of him, Shikamaru joined her in lying down, only this time turning his head to follow her profile.

"What do you need to think about?" he asked as tranquilly as he could.

She let her head fall to meet his.

"Whether the guy I might like, likes another girl," she murmured, gazing at him intensely.

He shook his head.

"I thought I…"

"Took you an awful long time to figure it out," Temari cut in meaningfully, still watching him closely.

Swallowing Shikamaru tried to string a sentence together.

"It was always there," he replied truthfully, thinking of nothing other than the need to gain her trust and stop her from running off to Kiba. "I just didn't realise it."

Smiling a little, Temari moved her head closer to his.

"So you're not just stubborn or afraid of changing your mind…?"

He shook his head and mimicked her movements.

"So then you've realised that I'm telling the truth…"

Again, he smiled and nodded, his eyes lowering to her lips- his head moving closer still.

"So then you'll go and tell Ino and Shiho that you've made up your mind…"

He pulled back.

"Do I have to?" he groaned, his head thumping back on the grass as he cringed at the thought of confronting the two girls and telling them the truth. "Couldn't I just stay here for a while and let it blow over?"

She laughed lowly and moved over to lean her head on her shoulder.

"No, sorry."

"Why not?"

"Because if you don't, no more kissing."

He looked in her eyes and saw she was serious.

"Give me five minutes."

It was the fastest he'd ever ran in his whole life.

* * *

So a quick anecdote before I run off on my hols; not too sure how much posting there will be over the month as I'll be darting about all over the place but I'll try my best.

Silly little one here but I enjoyed writing it and just as we all know that Seth should have chosen Summer the first time around, Shikamaru would totally choose Temari :D

The forum for my little ShikaTema comp is now up- the link is on my profile; as of yet it's just a general explanation of the competition- prompts will go up on Saturday I hope. I'm graduating tomorrow so I have to get an early night! Very excited lol. Anyways, come and take part and have a look around as I'd be glad of any suggestions or comments on improvements etc... :)

Hope you are all having a good summer and as always...

**REVIEW!**

SP7


	18. Cosmic Love

Inspired by; Autobiographical

* * *

*I would recommend listening to the song Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine whilst reading*

* * *

_A falling star fell from your heart and landed in my eyes _

_I screamed aloud, as it tore through them, and now it's left me blind_

Emptiness is a difficult emotion to feel – difficult because you are basing your state of mind on 'nothingness'. On that which does not exist.

Still…it's easier than basing your love on what can never exist.

Where she lives, people are primitive enough to speak of the punishments of God. How fatal disease is the worst He can inflict, how that is followed closely by disfigurement, social downfall and the loss of wealth or status.

She knows they are idiots.

A month ago she would have stated the reason to be because they believed that God would worry himself with something as stupid as humanity and its concerns.

This day…

This day she says it is because God's worst punishment is none of these things.

Instead, it is to show a human perfection and then to show them how they may never have it.

She has been shown perfection. Completion even, in the form of another.

_The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out _

_You left me in the dark _

_No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight _

_In the shadow of your heart _

That same month ago, she would laugh at the thoughts she possesses now. Never one to be romantic, Temari didn't believe in soul-mates. She wasn't even sure she believed in love.

Not that she thought it impossible to fall in love or to believe in the sensations or emotions or whatever it was your brain cooked up as a natural response to seeing an attractive member of the opposite sex.

No, she was certain that under the right circumstances, love could exist.

The issue she had was with duration. The ability of humans to sustain that level of infatuation further than two years raised serious questions within the girl's mind, especially when, upon meeting a random guy in a random bar, his line happened to be 'I could really fall in love with a girl like you'.

All very well, thought Temari, but could you stay in love?

And, so she drifted on through the dating process- as most girls in life did- meeting boys who she liked, who did not like her; boys who liked her who she did not like and occasionally, someone that could mean something.

She dated occasionally; she had relationships- some lasting weeks, some lasting months.

The ones that ended after a few months confirmed to her more than ever that love could not be sustained beyond two years at the most.

There was the occasional drama- sometimes he was unfaithful, sometimes she was. Sometimes she was the 'other woman', mostly she was just unlucky- meeting a pretty boy who was able to charm her when she was certain she had an iron will against the usual spiel that flattered other girls.

She wasn't as bullet proof as she thought.

Still, she forgot them; she forgot the boys who hurt her, the ones she hurt and sometimes their girlfriends too.

She learned that people aren't black and white; that good and evil don't exist outside of storybooks and that not everyone is either a hero or a villain. Sometimes you drift along the gap between the two- consciously hauling yourself back to white after spending unconscious months in the black.

Temari is a pretty light shade of grey.

On her good days, she thinks that is good enough.

On her bad days, like today, she wonders if the grey is what has left her here, in this position, contemplating if God is punishing her for her sins with a penalty that she cannot reasonably be expected to bear.

It's wonderful to be in love- she remembers the feeling of first love;

Light, air…

Flying even.

Every time he calls, every time he appears the bubble that forms in your stomach- the prickle around the back of your neck as every hair stands on edge- the vibrations of your lips when he kisses you.

It's a beautiful feeling.

But it is such a fragile thing- first love- it bursts so easily.

Most of the time it does.

For her, it did.

And then there are the mistakes you make as you try to find out who you are after him- without him- who you once were. For months, that person seems so far away, so out of your grasp- and she is. And so are the actions that you commit whilst trying to remember who you are.

Here is where you hurt the most people. Here is where you are hurting the most.

Eventually light comes again. Not quite the same- as a teenager light was like the sun on a bright blue day- now it is more like light through a window pane, coloured because you have lost something. Still there because you have grown.

And even after all these months, even after the months of tears and stomach aches, and avoiding him and groups of friends, even after all that, you can still say it was worth it.

You are a different person, but you have lived.

You have felt pain, but that is when you felt most alive.

So you send off a prayer, or a wish, or a thought that the next one will be better. It will be as powerful but this time, it will be true. These wishes happen at night time, in your bed when your eyes are closed and you admit to yourself that you need the feeling.

She cannot decide what is worse; that the next one did come- that he was better, he was spectacular and perfect and as close as you could get to what you had dreamt in your head-

Or that you can never have him.

_And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat _

_I tried to find the sound _

_But then, it stopped, and I was in the darkness, _

_So darkness I became _

Temari has known him since she was sixteen. Unfortunately for her, she was running around with another idiot at this part of her life, experiencing first love but not realising that the true one was standing in front of her.

She consoles herself with the fact that he didn't know it either- so she's not a total fool.

And so she spends her days with him- she goes to fancy dresses with him and they swap clothes on a dare; it makes her smile guiltily now to think what idiots they looked like- running around at 3am- her drowning in his clothes and he in a dress. It is a good memory.

They go star gazing after a night out with friends- 4am and they are sat on the wet grass talking about how the stars are the only truly beautiful things left and you only have to look up to find them, quoting Shakespeare to the night, _it is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves, _and hoping that your philosophical musings make some semblance of sense to the other.

Talking of attraction- and how it a funny thing- how it can appear without anyone wishing it to; how after days, months, even years together, you can turn around to find that you have been hit by a bullet; it was sinking into your heart so slowly that you only noticed it had hit you after you were dead.

Talking of how there is a pull…

She is talking idiotically now and she knows it, but the whiskey he has been drinking and the lateness of the hour make it easier for her to confess-

…there is a pull that you have never felt before- like there is a rope shooting out of your stomach, dragging you towards the other person- mentally, physically- a wrench that you cannot stop.

She feels like a moron, saying this to him. She feels raw and exposed in a way that kills her, but to not say it, to pretend otherwise or to leave without him knowing how she feels is not an option.

That thought hurts more than anything else.

So she says it. And afterwards she is left breathless.

_The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out _

_You left me in the dark _

_No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight _

_In the shadow of your heart _

But his dark, brown eyes gazing at her across the green field- even now in her memory- give her hope, reassurance that she is not speaking to a clueless boy. But to one who knows and feels every word she is saying- a small quirk at the corner of his lips makes her feel fourteen again.

Until...

"_I couldn't have put it any better_."

It is simple- it is so unromantic compared with the reels of words filled with passionate intensity she has just given him- but it is him.

Little words that she repeats in her head- her comfort as she reassures herself that she did not make up the whole thing in her head.

After all, what did they do?

They never kissed. They never had sex. They never even came close.

Their fingertips brushed each other's clumsily as they ran to his room to swap clothes.

She blushed when he stripped in front of her and thanked God that she chose to wear her good underwear.

She looks…

And she knows he did too.

They hugged. Another pathetic milestone but a memorable one.

_I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map  
And knew that somehow I could find my way back  
Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too  
So I stayed in the darkness with you  
_

He pulls back ever so slightly and his face is so close to hers- their noses almost grazing, her eyes wavering because if he tries to kiss her, she will let him.

But another door slamming causes him to fall back to consciousness- and he smiles. So does she, because even now, when things have faded, she is happy with the hug.

That night under the stars sticks in her head more than any other- his hand around her waist as they walked back inside, whiskey and cigarette smoke filtering through her perfume, his decision not to hug her…

"_Probably not a good idea_."

Given that he is from the opposite end of the land, practically, she agrees.

Given that he is married, she continues to agree.

He is a good man; he remembers his loyalties and she struggles to remain in the white. Her thoughts have been completely in the black since she discovered these feelings.

_The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out _

_You left me in the dark _

_No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight _

_In the shadow of your heart _

Her thoughts continue to be in the black when she cannot help remembering all the things he said to her…

"_You look good in that dress_," somewhat slurred but whispered clumsily into her ear at the bar.

"_There's something about you that just makes me want to take care of you_," said with all the bright honesty of daylight- a statement that his teammates ridicule him for endlessly later.

And the moment his female teammate realises it is getting out of hand; and the morning after when he realises she is right.

And so she has been shown perfection- she has been shown a soul mate.

She has been shown someone so close to her own being that it astonishes her to think she did not notice it before.

She berates herself now- for there was a moment- a moment when she felt herself fall for him, and whether or not she likes to admit it, she did it consciously. She did it because to not do it was impossible.

It meant to stay away from him for the week she was there. And that was not an option.

So, she is back home. Still in love with him, still aware that he can never be hers.

But she is happy…somewhat. The pain of separation has gone and she has been left with a dull ache. The happiness comes from knowing that she has felt in three days what some won't ever feel in their life. From knowing that he felt it too.

But mostly from knowing, that they did the right thing.

Six months ago, she would have done a different thing and hated herself for it a year later.

Now, she looks back knowing there was no alternative.

She may meet perfection again- she may meet a better form of perfection – in bed at night she hopes she will.

Those thoughts come after the black ones of him.

…She will let him go soon.

_The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out _

_You left me in the dark _

For now, she still has fancy dresses and 4am and the stars.

_No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight _

_In the shadow of your heart_

* * *

A/N: Possibly the most personal thing I've posted as a story with the exception of My Completely Platonic House Guest- I suppose this piece is a catharsis for me- my final thing to do before letting go.

Apologies if it is a bit much, I realise this is probably more for me than for the reader but either way, if it brought someone some enjoyment that's good too.

Should be more updating as I'm home now :)

SP7


	19. Stay away from my girl

_Inspired by_; Because everybody loves a jealous Shikamaru

* * *

He had been watching her all night. He couldn't help it.

It wasn't just that she was beautiful, or sexy or that she had a smile that sent a jolt straight from his brain downwards…oh no, even though she was all those things- it was something else.

Something far more deadly.

Unfortunately, as well as being possibly the most attractive creature he had ever seen, she was also…_magnetic_.

It was as though his eyes were compelled, drawn- pulled even towards her figure no matter where in the room she moved; she could but twitch her fingers and he would notice and then proceed to wonder what it would feel like to have her move underneath him in a similar manner.

He would have been vexed had it not been for the sheer effect she had over him; he supposed he would be annoyed tomorrow night. Right now, he could sit back and enjoy the numbing sense that flooded his mind when she laughed, or smiled or rubbed her left foot up and down the back of her right calf.

He really liked it when she did that.

…

He pondered going to talk to her. Well, chat her up. But something kept him in his chair. There were several reasons really; in the first place, she was surrounded by friends. That put his odds quite low, especially when there were already several eager looking males in the group. He smiled…she was soaking up the attention and it did her glowing complexion good.

Moving on, in the second place, he couldn't shake the feeling that however good looking, intelligent or witty he inwardly viewed himself to be, he would never be quite in her league. In fact, he wasn't sure he'd ever seen another human being in her league- it was as though it was a member's only club and she was the only person with a club card.

Finally, and possibly most importantly he reminded himself, he was waiting for his guide- which he had been doing for at least the past twenty minutes his watch told him.

Again, he probably would have minded his guide's lateness a whole lot more had it not been for the rather bewitching sight in front of him.

Sighing, he sipped at his drink.

It was most likely a bad sign that his guide requested that they meet at a bar, but then again, being new to Konoha he wasn't sure how things worked here and well, if the beauty in front of him was symptomatic of the type of kunoichi that frequented such places, well…again, it wasn't such a big deal.

Moving his brain back to her, Kei just couldn't understand how any of the people around her managed to function properly.

There they all were, smiling and laughing with her against the bar as if she wasn't the goddess that she was. They all talked, drank, danced even and none of the men seemed to try to make a move; none of the women seemed jealous…in fact they all seemed used to her. To her presence.

He had all but made up his mind to go over and make himself known- it didn't appear that his guide was showing up any time soon- when a figure approached him.

"Waiting for your guide, right?" the man to his left queried pleasantly, breaking Kei out of his reverie to stare up at his dark haired converser who was currently bearing down on him easily with a cigarette perched in between his lips.

Kei nodded expectantly.

"Inuzuka Kiba," he said, holding out his hand and giving him a firm handshake before sitting down in the seat at the other side of the table. "Sorry I'm late."

"No problem," Kei responded casually, leaning back in his seat, his eyes slowly drifting back over to the bar where she stood.

"Other things to keep you occupied, eh?"

"…what?" Kei managed after a few moments, only half registering Kiba's amused remark.

He heard the man laugh.

"She's quite something, isn't she?" Kiba went on, tapping some ash into the tray on the table as a waiter hurried somewhat nervously towards their table and placed a tumbler with some ice and amber liquid in front of him. Kiba didn't even acknowledge him, seemingly more interested in Kei and the object of his affections.

Kei nodded jerkily.

"I can't think where I've ever seen anyone so…"

Here he broke off, unable to find the words.

"…spectacular?" Kiba offered blithely, a small knowing smile on his face.

Kei nodded again.

"Do you know her?" he asked, trying to further to conversation so as not to seem rude.

"Kind of," Kiba answered, continuing to smoke as the crowd in front of them gave a raucous roar and Kei's stomach jumped when she threw her head back in laughter.

Her neck. He hadn't even noticed the beautiful, swan-like, graceful…

"She's not from here," he went on, once again forcing Kei to stop staring with his mouth half-open. "Sunan actually."

"Oh yeah?" Kei marvelled. "That's near enough to me. I wonder how I've never met her before."

"She's the liaison between Konoha and Suna, so she's here quite a bit," Kiba said, both men now staring at the girl. "You probably know of her in any case."

Kei looked puzzled.

"She's the Kazekage's sister."

"_What?_" Kei choked, finally breaking his gaze and turning to face Kiba who was eyeing him with a sort of relaxed humour. "As in the crazy one?"

Kiba laughed aloud here, inhaling thickly and blowing out a cloud of smoke before he answered.

"I wouldn't say that to her," he replied finally, turning away. "But yeah, she's from that family."

"Wow," he murmured, his mind trying to link the stories he had heard of the Kazekage's past with his current opinion of the girl in front of him. "I would never have guessed that."

"That doesn't surprise me," Kiba agreed. "For one thing, she's far more attractive than either of her brothers."

"There's the understatement of the century," Kei snorted, reaching for his drink and missing two or three times as he was loathe to remove his gaze. "I think she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

"Mmm?"

"I mean…there's just something about her. She had these eyes. They're like this deep, deep blue but when she laughs or the light catches them they flash sea green," Kei all but gushed. "It's unique."

He turned to see Kiba watching him closely, the same easy amusement as before although this time there was a slight furrow to his brow.

"You must have been watching her for a while."

"I haven't been able to take my eyes off her for nearly half an hour," he confirmed, slightly bashfully. "But it's not just her eyes. I mean, her smile- it's like a light bulb goes off in my head every time she laughs…"

"Your stomach jumps, you shiver, the hairs on the back of your neck stand up…" Kiba added, finishing for him. "I've been in love," he explained when Kei regarded him expectantly.

"…and I don't think I've ever seen a figure like that on any other kunoichi," he persisted lowly, ignoring Kiba's comment about love as he didn't want to have to think about something so annoyingly possible right now.

Kiba coughed a little.

"I mean, I don't understand how every other guy over there is just talking to her normally," came his next small outburst. "How are they not all chatting her up? I mean it's not as if every shinobi in Konoha is blind, right? They can see what I see?"

Kiba nodded in confirmation, setting his cigarette down in the ashtray. "They can see what you see."

"Then how are they all just standing there?" he queried incredulously, rubbing his forehead with a futile gesture. "I just don't get it."

Sighing lightly, Kiba sipped his drink before leaning on the table.

"Why don't you think about the logical explanation as to why no one is hitting on her?" he suggested, as Kei began to think, choosing to ignore the patronizing tone with which he was spoken to.

It all came crashing down on him like a tonne of bricks and he didn't know how on earth he had been so stupid as to miss it before.

"She has a boyfriend," he breathed, turning to Kiba for confirmation, his eyes round as saucers.

His guide nodded gently, his drink now empty although somehow another waiter noticed almost immediately without Kiba having to do anything and automatically another was set down in front of the man and the old one taken away.

"Of course she has a boyfriend," Kei groaned, throwing his head back. "As if someone like her could _not_ have one."

"It is unfortunate," his companion consoled.

"Unfortunate? It's bloody annoying," he sulked, folding his arms for lack of anything to do with them.

"I'd still say unfortunate," Kiba countered simply, beginning on his refill.

"Why?"

"Her boyfriend's a lunatic," he advised sagely, as Kei frowned in confusion and perplexity at the calmness with which Kiba said such an odd statement. "You think you're the first guy to find her attractive?" he continued to inform.

"So what? The guy just attacks everyone who hits on her?" Kei joked with a quick laugh.

Kiba gave him a solemn look.

"You're not serious?" he gritted out disbelievingly, his eyes flashing back and forward between Kiba and the bar where she stood.

"Well, not necessarily attacks…" Kiba mitigated somewhat, "but…"

"But?"

"Well, let's just say he makes sure everybody knows who she belongs to."

"Isn't that a bit…?"

"…mad?" Kiba offered with a grin, to which Kei nodded. "…if she was your girlfriend would you act any differently?"

Kei took this piece of knowledge in, his gaze moving back over to her and he found that he had to agree.

If, after finally winning this girl over, he was confronted with every man in his village trying to win her away, Kei wasn't too sure he would've acted very differently at all. It was difficult merely seeing her surrounded with other men and he had only known- known of her- for just under an hour. He couldn't imagine the jealousy should he have to deal with such competition on a daily basis.

Perhaps this man was just being incredibly smart and seeing off all the competition before it even began.

"Excuse me," Kiba said suddenly, standing up and dusting down his trousers before making to leave.

"Where are you going?" Kei asked, puzzled at the half-finished drink and still smoking cigarette.

"It was nice meeting you," he said by way of an answer, before smiling down on Kei, although this time the visitor felt distinctly uncomfortable. "I'm sure we'll meet again soon."

Watching with narrowed eyes as Kiba strolled away, Kei tried to think if he had done something wrong before he was broken out of this thought by another voice.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," he heard almost yelled from half way across the bar as a man tripped towards him, an uneasy look on his face. "Sorry, I know I'm really late but I got caught up with Akamaru- that's my ninken- a bit of his fur got knotted and if you don't get it right away…"

"I'm sorry," Kei interrupted, stopping the man in his rant. "Who are you?"

"Kiba," he said breathlessly, his cheeks red. "Your guide. Probably should've said that first. Tsunade's going to kill me. I told her I'd muck this job up."

Still not quite sure what was going on, Kei felt himself automatically look back towards her and her still laughing group of friends.

"I'd stay away from her, mate," the new Kiba offered with a light nudge. "Not worth the trouble you'd get, trust me."

Kei's brow furrowed even further when he noticed the man he had previously thought to be Kiba still strolling towards the bar, hands in his pockets. Without so much as a noise, the sea of men around the girl parted automatically to make way for him and when he finally found his way to the centre of the circle, he slipped his hand around the girl's waist, pulling her close to him and she came easily.

Kei was so busy watching the pair as she kissed him in greeting, that he didn't even notice when the cigarette in the ashtray beside him exploded with a loud bang, showering him in ash and bits of floating paper.

"Ah," Kiba observed as though nothing really had happened, "I see you've already met Shikamaru."

* * *

Completely obvious but still quite fun to write- and it has been ages since I posted anything- apologies- so this little offering. Having said that this idea has been knocking about in my head for quite a while- prompted mostly by all of the 'I love a jealous Shikamaru' reviews for _Work_. And I agree- it is a good stance for him to adopt, lol. Credit should also go to X-Men for the title and (shamefully) to Snoop Dogg and Pharrell; 'But everybody know who girl that you is'. - no idea how much I wanted to leave that part out.

Anywho- greetings from London Town! Life has been completely overhauled in a very nerve wracking but good way so I can't guarantee any more or less updates at the moment. I'll try to be consistent but life is hectic right now!

Hope you all enjoyed.

As usual...

**REVIEW!**

SP7 :)


	20. A Pretty Pair

Inspired by; _Birds of a Feather_ by The Civil Wars

* * *

"Are you sure it's worth all this?"

Their eyes connect.

_Where she walks, no flowers bloom_

_He's the one I see right through_

She drives him to distraction sometimes. There are days when it's like she takes a hammer and nail and sits and drills the thing into his head purely for her own amusement.

He's lost count of the number of headaches and bruises and stomach aches she's given him since he first met her even though he knows they're all psychosomatic; his body responding to the dry, dull thump of his brain whenever she starts one of her games again.

And he can't actually be sure that the days spent with her are ever spent peacefully. There are seconds between the time she stops yelling at him and takes a breath to refuel- and those seconds are the most silence he gets for the duration of her stay.

Not even the kids from the Academy, nor Naruto or Rock Lee or Ino on their best days can outdo Temari at causing anger, fury, exasperation, defiance or a mixture of all four to spew from within him.

And these days, it's like she doesn't even have to try.

_She's the absinthe on my lips_

_The splinter in my fingertips_

All it takes is a quirk of his eyebrow.

That one little movement and she can feel the force of ten thousand horses tearing her apart, desperate to make him flush and burn and seethe the way he has just done to her.

He is deceptively good at pretending he's calm. He never blushes or breathes quickly and he's long ago stopped rolling his eyes because he knows it used to offer her some satisfaction.

Now he just sits there, arms folded, eyes closed, head thrown back and it's all she can do not to destroy him where he sits. Ruffle his unruffled demeanour and force him to shout and roar at her until he's hoarse.

But even her best attempts fail. She wants a reaction. She wants him to unleash at her.

But he just sits there.

And quirks his left eyebrow. As though he's mildly surprised by her presence. And only slightly amused by her attempts to disturb him.

She overturns a lamp every time he does it.

_But who could do without you?_

_And who could do without you?_

His apartment is all but destroyed by the ends of her episodes. And he's smoked every cigarette in his possession so he always has to leave and get more. Which he hates.

It doesn't smell like his place anymore and it looks like an angry beast has trampled through it and he knows that when she leaves, he will be the one who has to clean it up or his mother will come, and Ino will talk and Choji will laugh.

He could slam her against a wall sometimes. If it would only make her stop trying to annoy him.

And he can't bear it that she's so bloody successful.

And it's the times when he realises that thought that he does slam her against the wall.

And she grins because she's won.

And then he does. Because they've both won.

_She the sea I'm sinking in_

_He's the ink under my skin_

When he gives in, it's like air in her lungs again. And her stomach twists with a sick pleasure that she made him snap, like no one else ever can.

The immovable Nara Shikamaru is bent under her thumb like the weakest piece of bark in Konohagakure.

His fingers are curled around her forearms digging in and causing her pain but the satisfaction is too much to tell him to stop and before she can help herself, the fire in his eyes is causing her to smile in victory.

And he slams her back against the wall one more time…because he can…because long ago he worked out that his reactions thrilled her more than any alcohol, drug or aphrodisiac he would care to throw her way.

It's all about his fingernails and his eyes and his half open mouth where she finds him contemplating what to do next.

The fire has dulled and he watches her closely- his lips quirking because this is what they both wanted.

She can't guarantee what his next move will be- but given how it's went every other night they've played this game she's fairly sure it will only end with one outcome.

After all, neither of them has even bothered getting properly dressed…they never really do when they're being them.

_Sometimes I can't tell where I am_

_Where I leave off and he begins_

He always complains about the state his bed is in the next morning because he knows it makes her happy to hear it.

And she'll call him a name and tell him to stop staring at her as she strides around, creating more mess, slamming windows and doors and throwing things at him- although when it's the morning it's only ever cushions and quilts and clothes- which means she's happy.

And he'll lie there and not listen to a single thing she's saying- because she won't shut up for the next 12 hours and most of what she says will be nonsense.

Really, if he ever wants to have a serious conversation with her, he has to take her outside, in public- then she knows it's something he actually wants to discuss and she's the best advisor anyone has ever had.

But when she prattles...

She starts off at a low volume and gradually the sound grows louder and louder and louder until they're back against the wall because he's finally remembered a great way of shutting her up.

But not yet.

Right now, the room is too warm from the sunlight pouring in. The cuts he sustained in the battle are too raw and all he wants is to sleep and lie there with the not unpleasant sound of her pottering around his apartment as though she owns it.

…and then she throws water over him.

_But who could do without you?_

_And who could do without you?_

He holds in a growl and it causes her a thrill like no other to hear it suppressed. He manages to lie there and glare at her while she stands and grins and tells him he deserves it for being such a wimpy bitch.

The eyes are worth it every time.

When he's dried off a couple of hours later she'll make him clean the bed sheets and make the bed and then she'll jump on it as soon as he's done.

She feels a territorial heat come upon her when his idiotic teammates call round and innocently remark on the state of the room and she easily spiels off some lie as to why they're both undressed and Shikamaru laughs and she smiles and the others do uncomfortably because no one believes it at all.

But they have to. And that makes it even better.

She knows why they are uncomfortable; even as she stands there, draped in his tee-shirt or dressing gown or whatever it happens to be that morning, he will swear blind that they are nothing more than work colleagues. He'll say this to them with a straight face and she'll trail her fingers up his neck and through his hair and smile at them both.

And they'll nod and accept it as though he's just told them that the sky is blue.

After they leave she starts earlier that day. She breaks one of his desk drawers and spills ink all over a report he was writing and that really gets him mad.

There is a vein in his neck which almost bursts.

And she can tell he doesn't know whether to hit her or go for the wall again.

He does neither. He sits and picks up a book and begins to read.

That means keep going.

So down come his paintings and out the window go his best shirts. She drinks all his milk and whisky and sprays her perfume everywhere she can think of- including on him- but he is immovable.

It's that time of day when it's getting to her again and she can feel her legs prickle and her eyes burn in their sockets.

She snaps all of his carefully cultivated plants in half and rips the book straight out of his hand leaving only the page he was holding in its place. She sings at the top of her lungs and cooks the worst smelling food and leaves the kitchen like a car bomb has just hit it- but he is immovable.

It's a little later and her throat is dry and she thinks she might try punching him but something much better comes along.

He tells her to take a shower- it might calm her down.

That sends her over the edge and she nearly takes the bathroom door off of its hinges when taking his suggestion.

Instead, she locks it.

And in the end it's him that breaks down the door when he hears what she's doing in there.

_Oh, aren't we a pretty, pretty pair?_

_Yes, we are_

She never truly knows how much she gets under his skin. How much at times he wishes he had never allowed her that deep.

His friends, if he ever went to them, would be the quickest to suggest that he gives her up. After all, he never touches a cigarette anymore- except when she's around.

The thought makes him laugh dryly- as though giving her up was ever an option.

In the end he knows he'll hang on for dear life as long as she lets him and probably even longer after that ends too.

His mother sees the bruises on him and frowns and his father watches his downward spiral and says nothing and the whole land knows what is going on.

They stand feet apart in public yet they look closer than any other couple as far as the eye can see- his whole body language has begun to scream out that all others need not apply. He's found it. He's found her and his life has been settled. Or destroyed more likely.

_All, all the king's horses_

_And all of his men_

_Couldn't tear us apart_

He will never likely know that her feelings for him run much, much deeper than some sort of base attraction. She will never let him know.

But she'll let everyone else know.

As they walk down the street she can feel the mood of Konoha change- because she isn't a stranger anymore- no longer an outsider.

She's his.

She hates that thought- it's another one that makes her skin crawl but she won't lie to herself.

The men still stare but they know they haven't a hope in hell. The women have long ago learnt to keep their eyes off him- the bruises and the bite marks and the fact that he will never look at them ensured that.

They all pretend they don't know.

The two of them even do it themselves.

Until one day it becomes too obvious.

_Dancing with a ball and chain_

_Through it all we still remain_

It's no one's fault. But the pretence is gone.

And he doesn't want to lie anymore and she doesn't want to leave anymore

So Tsunade calls them in for a meeting.

She tells them what they'd be giving up. How hard it would be, for them, for their countries…

His eyes are closed because he knew all this from the beginning. Hers remain defiantly staring out the window because she never gave a damn in the first place.

When she sees she's getting nowhere, the ultimate question finally comes.

"Are you sure it's worth all this?"

Their eyes connect.

_Like butterflies around a flame_

_Till ashes, ashes, we fade away_

Yes.

Yes, it is.

Every fucking minute of it.

They say nothing, but the Hokage has her answer.

* * *

A/N: So the reason it's taken me so long to upload another Anecdote is because I wanted it to be something special for my 20th (yay!) lol. And it was taking me a while to find inspiration for it but recently I started listening to Barton Hollow- The Civil Wars' Album and it is exquisite. I know I may be a bit late on the bandwagon with this duo but I've fallen quite hard for their music and when I heard Birds of a Feather, all I could think of was Shikamaru and Temari. The song has become another one of my ShikaTema songs because I think the lyrics just typify their relationship so well.

That said, I decided that my special 20th Anecdote should be about their relationship rather than drama or marriage or kids- just them and how they are together, alone. I imagine there are many different versions of this premise to tell but this is the take that this song inspired.

Anyhow, hope you all enjoyed and thank you so much for sticking with me through The Anecdotes. It really has been a fun project and I intend to keep going as long as the inspiration sticks.

Thanks for reading and as always...

**REVIEW!**

****SP7 :)


	21. Stubborn Love

Based on: Stubborn Love by The Lumineers

* * *

_She'll lie and steal and cheat, and beg you from her knees_

_Make you thinks she means it this time_

_She'll tear a hole in you, the one you can't repair _

_But I still love her, I don't really care_

* * *

He could hear them outside his apartment door as he lay stretched along the couch, watching the light from his lamp swirl along the ceiling.

"So this is the fifth time in three years, yes?" he heard Kiba ask in an exasperated tone, as Ino sighed beside him.

"Sounds about right," she replied, and although the door muffled them, Shikamaru was sure he heard the clink of a few bottles of wine.

"Why is it every time we decide to have a dinner party, this happens?" Kiba asked again, sounding genuinely annoyed.

"Because Temari is insane," Neji droned beside him, causing Kiba to laugh aloud in agreement.

"Why does she have to choose to be insane at our dinner parties though?" came Ten Ten's voice next, as they all shuffled on the doorstep and he wondered what was taking them so long to come in.

"Don't even start me," Kiba riled up, seemingly jumping from foot to foot in the cold. "There's never any food because she's left, Shikamaru's practically falling asleep because he's been up all night crying, or whatever it is guys do when they get dumped, and all we have is wine so everyone goes home drunk and I have to suffer through the whole day of Ino's hangover!"

"Hey!" Ino yelped, and knowing her, probably elbowing her boyfriend in the ribs for his sins. "First of all, my hangovers are nothing compared to yours! Secondly, she didn't dump him. She never does. She just runs back off to Suna for three months, during which _our friend_ is miserable until she inevitably returns and then we don't see him for five months because they're busy doing God knows what!"

"I think we can all guess what they're doing," Kiba suggested, making Shikamaru seriously consider kage mane-ing him through the door.

"What do you reckon he did this time?" Ten Ten queried conspiratorially.

"Probably asked her to stay," Ino answered. "Which is of course a big deal seeing as how she spends all of her time here anyways."

"She was always over-dramatic," Neji agreed, as more footsteps joined them.

"Did anyone actually bring any food this time," Shikamaru heard Naruto moan, knowing that Hinata would most likely be with him and guessing that the other set of footsteps were hers.

"No, because we only found out about this today!" Kiba answered accusatorially, obviously directing the remark at Ino.

"To be fair, this always happens when we try to eat together, so we probably should have known," Ten Ten contributed to which there was a general murmur of consensus.

"So, what did he do? Ask her to stay again?" Naruto repeated, to which everyone murmured agreement again.

"Actually, I asked her to marry me this time," Shikamaru yelled as belligerently as he could, cutting right through their chatter and creating a silence.

Eventually, after they had all probably finished looking at one another guiltily, the door swung open slowly and revealed the group standing there, shuffling about awkwardly.

"Hello and welcome to my life," Shikamaru went on, now looking at the ceiling. "I'd like to apologise for my lack of food, crazy girlfriend and oddly non-soundproof door. Enter if you must."

They all continued to stand there before Ino bustled in and the rest followed.

"So she is still your girlfriend then?" she asked distractedly, moving into the kitchen and rooting through his drawers by the sounds of things.

"You'd have to ask her," Shikamaru told them, as Neji and Kiba gave him looks of apologies for their previous behaviour.

A cork popping sounded and Ino returned with the wine with the other girls carrying glasses behind her.

"So, marriage huh?" Naruto insisted, settling himself on the floor.

He didn't say anything but he could feel his jaw clench and closed his eyes to stop the frustration bubbling through.

"I don't know why she would say no," Hinata said quietly, passing him a glass of wine which he quickly downed.

"Maybe you picked an awful ring," Ino joked gently, as he lifted his feet to let her sit down on the sofa.

"You tell me," he replied, gesturing to the small box on the table that none of them had noticed before.

Ino popped open the box and he heard her gasp a little.

"It's beautiful, Shikamaru," she told him, now passing the box around the room which hurt more than he thought it would. "Pick it yourself?"

He nodded as Naruto breathed 'nice' and set it back on the table.

They all sat there and drank until Neji eventually spoke.

"Why do you keep doing this to yourself, Nara?" he asked bleakly and Shikamaru wished he had an answer to give.

"Glutton for punishment, I guess."

"So you're not done with her then?" Ten Ten asked somewhat insensitively.

He shook his head and smiled briefly at his own predictability.

"Oh, Shikamaru, _why_?" Ino prodded, actually hitting him on the top of his feet. "She does this every time you try to…move your relationship forward."

"To be fair, she never lied about how she felt about moving here," Naruto mitigated and he wondered how everyone in the whole village knew so much about his private life. Probably due to the blonde sitting next to him. "She's always stormed out any time you've asked her."

He couldn't disagree with that. They weren't lying when they said it was at least the fifth time this had happened.

"But even still, he doesn't have to put up with it," Ino argued back, pouring him more wine. "I don't understand why you just won't let her go back to Suna and stay there."

"Would you let Kiba run off and not go after him?" Ten Ten asked her, and Shikamaru felt the brief bliss of the focus not being on him.

"Irrelevant," the blonde responded. "He wouldn't do that…"

"Yeah, the amount that ring on her finger cost is more than enough reason to stay put…"

"…and even if he did," Ino went on, ignoring him, "I wouldn't let him do it more than once!"

"It shouldn't be this hard," Neji seemed to agree, talking to Shikamaru directly. "It shouldn't always be you running after her."

Shikamaru chose Ino's line and decided to ignore him.

They talked and argued over what her leaving again meant and he let his mind drift back to the only time they'd ever actually managed to have a dinner party. Just after they'd started going out.

He'd just bought his new apartment, but being young and poor the heating hadn't kicked in yet and it was freezing. The cooker wasn't working and neither was anything else, so they all ate takeaway food out of the boxes- he hadn't had plates back then either- and she'd bustled about his kitchen trying to make it more homely. And he'd watched and thought how great she looked there. How she should probably stay.

Back then, Neji and Ten Ten weren't going out and Kiba and Ino were still trying to pretend to everyone that they weren't sleeping together. Hinata and Naruto were dating other people but still spent more time with one another than with their respective partners. And him and Temari…he was busy trying to convince himself that she wasn't the one. That this was only temporary- just brilliant fun, beautifully effortless and great sex- nothing more.

The cold that night put paid to that thought. After they'd finished eating, they'd bundled up under a blanket and she'd fallen asleep on his shoulder.

It was that wretched moment that kept him from throwing the towel in on their relationship. The memory of her there, keeping him from freezing and depending on him all the same- that thought, along with all the others- the ridiculously young age that they'd slept together, the pain he'd felt the first time she'd ended it, the joy when she let him in to her apartment in Suna- all those thoughts kept him stubborn. Kept his head up and his love strong.

He hadn't a clue how to tell them that though. It was such a mammoth thought to convey that he didn't even try. He just accepted the wine they kept offering him and listened dully as they debated over her worthiness, like it actually mattered what they thought.

His head lolled to the side and he eyed the door that she'd stormed out of less than 48 hours ago.

She'd knocked the umbrella stand as she'd went and it was still lying on the floor.

Tonight the heat had broken again- and she was nowhere to be found.

"Shikamaru!" Ino barked, demanding his attention. He looked at her to show he was listening. "This is it, yes? Last time? Yes?"

He grinned a little because he was slightly tipsy and she rolled her eyes.

"I think I might have to move to Suna," he said eventually, causing them all to shut up once more as he turned on his side to just avoid Ino's blazing gaze.

"What?" she spat as Neji and Kiba seemed to catch on the quickest and return to their previous activity of drinking.

"That seems like a good idea," Naruto said honestly as they all rounded on him. "Well it does," he defended. "Look, he wants to be with her, she won't move here- why not move to Suna? It seems like it's the solution."

Nobody could argue with that logic, so they all stayed silent.

"Why not just stop asking her to move here?" Ten Ten suggested after a while. "She always stays without complaint until you ask her again, and then she bolts. Maybe if you just stopped bringing it up…"

"Could you live your whole life like that?" Neji cut in. "In a state of uncertainty?"

"I don't really care anymore," Shikamaru stated frankly, "not enough to lose her, anyways."

"It doesn't really seem like you have her," Kiba put in next, as Shikamaru had to stop himself from lashing out, verbally or physically.

"She always comes back…"

"And then leaves again…"

"Yes, but she always returns…"

"Honestly, I'm not sure what that means. She might love you, Shikamaru…"

"Or she might just enjoy having somewhere nice to stay in Konoha…"

"…but then she might just think she does…"

Between his heading banging inwardly and them all arguing, none of them had noticed the door open and shut.

It was only when Hinata stood to retrieve another bottle of wine that they all looked towards the door and jumped.

She was standing there, still in the doorway, lit from above. Her clothes were the same as the ones she'd left in; her hair was wet near the bottom and windswept on top. Her eyes were red rimmed.

Shikamaru didn't know how long she'd been standing there- what she'd heard, what she hadn't. But he sat up. Just to make sure it was actually her.

They all looked at her. Shikamaru could just feel Ino ready to effervesce up into a shouting frenzy and thanked God for her good grace to stay silent.

"She does love him," Temari said eventually, looking directly at him. He felt his head throb with pain or relief. "She's just an idiot sometimes."

Even as Ino made a small harrumph, they didn't break eye contact- they stayed as they were. He had never wished that his whole group of friends would disappear so quickly in his life.

He wanted to go to her. Swing her back like in those Hollywood movies and kiss her til he couldn't breathe. But that wasn't him and it certainly wasn't her. So he stayed where he was and watched as she turned behind her and picked up a large bag.

"I brought food," Temari told them all, to which Naruto breathed a 'hallelujah' and several of them laughed. "I assume we've still got enough alcohol."

"Just about," Kiba informed her.

Ten Ten moved forward to claim the bag from her but it was Ino who got there first, although Shikamaru hadn't even noticed her move, he was so busy looking at Temari.

"You'll need this if you're going to stay," Ino said firmly, squaring up to Temari and he blanched to see that it she was holding the ring out to her, her hand shaking with either alcohol or determination.

"Ino…" Shikamaru reprimanded hastily, worried that she'd turn and leave.

"Be quiet, Shikamaru, this doesn't concern you," Ino batted back, her gaze never wavering from Temari.

Looking wryly at the girl in front of her, Temari smiled briefly and turned to look at him, holding out her left hand as she did so.

In a moment that he'd never fail to laugh at in future years, Ino pushed the ring onto Temari's fourth finger.

"Congratulations," she all but yelled at her. "Make sure you don't forget it again, alright?"

Temari smiled again and handed Ten Ten the food, after a brief hug. Tripping tiredly towards him, she hugged her arms.

"Is the heating on?" she asked him.

"I think it's broke," he replied, moving up to give her space to curl up beside him. "I've got a blanket here," he added, pulling one out from underneath himself and throwing it around them.

"I found champagne!" they heard Kiba yell in the background as she yawned against his neck.

"I brought your favourite," she told him in a whisper, entwining her hand in his and he felt the ring press against his palm.

His arm went around her shoulders and pulled her tighter to his chest as he told her he wasn't really hungry anymore.

"Did she bring soup?" was Hinata's next question, whilst Temari proffered a soft kiss just below his ear as an apology.

"Yup, found it!"

"Anything with chicken?"

"I can smell beef but…"

By the time their friends returned from the kitchen with the food and champagne, they were both asleep, bundled up under the blanket, keeping each other warm.

* * *

_When we were young, _

_Oh oh, we did enough_

_When it got cold, _

_Ooh ooh, we bundled up_

_I can't be told, _

_Ah ah it can't be done_

_So keep your head up, keep your love…_

* * *

A/N: So yes, it's been AGES! I apologise so much for the large time I've made you wait for an update on anything! I'm in the process of training to be a lawyer which means full time job- but I actually get paid!- so I don't have as much time to write at all.

Rest assured I'm doing any writing I can any chance I get. Still writing remembrance ( see profile for description), and Slave! but they're lengthy stories so they need lots of work.

Hope you enjoyed this piece of fluff- small though it is- and hopefully I'll have something new posted again soon.

**REVIEW!**

SP7


	22. AWOL

_Inspired by; _Two and a Half Men of all things!

* * *

Shikaku Nara took a second to steady himself and his usually unflappable nerves before he knocked on the door in front of him.

Between the heat and the nature of the situation this took a little longer than it might have done, had he been facing a deadly enemy in the field of battle. After he had knocked and the door had opened slowly, it occurred to Shikaku that he was facing perhaps as deadly an enemy as he had ever come across. And he hadn't taken enough time to prepare.

Whilst the door opened at a leisurely pace, Shikaku's eyes drifted up and over the bare ankles, shapely calves and thighs that presented themselves. His eyes continued up over the hips, waist and chest of a very well-proportioned woman who had the nerve to finish off all of the below with a ruby red pair of lips and sparkling sea-green eyes.

"Careful Shikaku," she purred whilst he got over the fact that she'd answered the door wearing not much more than underwear and a filmy silk dressing gown. "You look awfully like your son, you know. Turning up at my door all hot and bothered might not be the best idea."

When he had managed to shake off the hazy effect of her initial appearance, Shikaku looked the lady straight in the eyes.

"Could I come in?" he asked, as steadily as possible, coughing at the beginning to kick start his parched throat.

With eyes that said 'be my guest', she stepped aside and let him into her apartment.

"It's taken you two weeks to get here," she remarked with a grin, finally rearranging that godforsaken robe. "I imagined you would have arrived after three days."

"I thought by now, he'd have come to his senses," Shikaku replied dryly, his eyes drifting over the girl again and reminding him what a stupid, idiotic thought that was.

"Why don't you take off your jacket?" she cut in, breaking his chain of thought and forcing his eyes off of her with a grin that said she knew exactly what he was thinking. "You're sweating."

"In the desert, I thought that mightn't be the most unusual thing," he opined, nonetheless doing as she suggested and throwing his jacket onto her table.

Shikaku Nara was a man who had defeated many foes in his time, and he would be damned if he'd let some twenty-something female be the downfall of him…or his son.

"So, is he here?"

She nodded, gracefully allowing herself to lounge on the couch- the robe now riding up again, much to his tired mind's vexation.

"I'm actually making dinner," Shikaku heard a voice call from the other room before footsteps padded into the room and he balked to see his son strut into their presence wearing only his underwear and a t-shirt. "You can stay if you want, Dad," Shikamaru informed him, continuing to stride over to the lounging blonde; placing his arm around her and pressing a prolonged kiss to her cheek. "There's plenty of food."

"Three weeks here and he's already treating the place as if it's his own," Temari remarked highly, her eyes never moving from Shikaku's- clearly revelling in the expression of discomfort which he wore.

"I thought you said I could stay," Shikamaru batted back as he returned to the kitchen and Temari rose to follow him, leaving Shikaku with no alternative but to do the same, although by the time he arrived, he'd wished he hadn't as he found them pressed against the counter, wrapped around each other in a mess of limbs.

"I said you couldn't leave," she replied in that maddening purr. "That's a very different thing, Nara."

Thankfully, Shikamaru had the sense of notice his father's presence in the room and backed off, somehow wearing the same grin that his partner in crime did.

"Be thankful you didn't arrive twenty minutes ago," Shikamaru remarked with a grin at Shikaku, who could only respond initially with a dry look.

"Be thankful I managed to convince your mother to let me come," he told his son harshly, feeling as though Shikamaru was ten again and he was trying to take away his favourite toys. Unfortunately, this time the boy was a lot older, and the toy was a lot more interesting.

"The result would be the same either way," Shikamaru responded, his tone entirely serious now as he returned to the stove and began to strain something. His toy had decided to seat herself at the table so Shikaku followed suit.

"You are smart…" Shikaku began with a sigh, rubbing his temples with his head just to avoid looking over at the eyes he knew would be studying him.

"So?"

"So, don't make me tell you what you already know."

"If I already knew it, don't you think I would have taken it into account before coming here?" Shikamaru pitted, setting a plate down in front of Temari.

"Before ruining your career?" Shikaku offered, largely ignoring the plate that was now proffered. "I imagined you would have been smart enough to imagine the consequences of going AWOL…"

"And now?"

"Now, I'm starting to think it wasn't you who was doing the thinking at all," he said pointedly, taking a moment to meet the eyes he had been trying to avoid for so long.

Temari slurped up a long, thin noodle and began to grin at him again.

Shikaku decided to eat.

"She had nothing to do with it," Shikamaru told him, turning around just in time to see his father's withering look.

"You'll hurt my feelings," Temari interjected cutely, standing up to potter about the kitchen as Shikamaru sat down.

"The only people who had anything to do with my decision were the Hokage and the Elders," Shikamaru finished, beginning to eat.

"They gave you an order you didn't like, so you had a tantrum," Shikaku corrected bitterly.

"They told me to give up the woman I love," his son fought back, his voice raised and Shikaku struggled to keep his own temper under control. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Think of a way around it, instead of running off at the first sign of trouble, that's what!"

An arm curled its way around Shikamaru's chest, clearly stilling the fire in him as a blonde head buried itself in his neck.

"He came to see me to talk over the issue," Temari informed him, in between the sound of her lips connecting with Shikamaru's neck. "He was about to leave when we realised that if he stayed, there was no problem."

"Apart from the small issue of becoming a criminal in his own land," Shikaku suggested, as the barely clad girl lingered over Shikamaru. "You seem to think that is nothing of importance at all."

"They told me I had to choose," Shikamaru answered coolly. "So I did."

"I'd prefer it if you said there was no choice at all," Temari put in with a bat of her lashes.

"Then I'd be telling you something you already knew," Shikamaru appeased, whispering the sweet nothings to her lips- seemingly forgetting entirely that his father was in the room. "Where are you going?" he just about asked as he extricated himself from the apparently addictive charm of the girl's lips when Shikaku stood up.

"Away," Shikaku uttered, with a calm that belied his anger. "I can't look at you like this. So…different from everything your mother and I brought you up to be. We taught you to be calm and measured. And you're acting like a love-struck fifteen-year-old."

With that remark, Shikaku made good his exit and was on his way to the door when he heard a soft walk follow him.

"You've all but ruined his life," he told Temari; not needing to turn around to know that she was the one behind him. "If you have any regard for him at all then you will tell him to return."

She simpered at him and leant against the doorframe, the angle of her body now exposing underneath her robe once more.

"I don't ever intend to let him go," she murmured, moving dangerously close to Shikaku for his own liking. "He's much too much fun…although, if you're offering up a replacement…?"

Shikaku turned and ran from her and the finger which she had so carelessly traced up his neck. He strode away from her apartment as fast as he could, fists clenched and eyes blazing at the brazenness of their stupidity.

He was walking so quickly and with such fervour that he barely noticed when he slammed straight into another body.

It was with great annoyance that he was greeted with the face of another of the first family of Sunagakure and forced to apologise when he felt like punching it.

"You needn't apologise, Nara" the Kazekage informed him graciously. "I'd be annoyed too if I were forced to make a three day journey to participate in this charade too. As it is, all I have to do is pretend that I don't know what's going on."

There was a beat that passed between them.

"What _is_ going on?" Shikaku queried, feeling desperately at a loss.

The red-headed boy rolled his eyes.

"No doubt my sister's idea to keep you in the dark to cause as much uproar as possible," he said disparagingly, now dusting down his robes. "Your son wants to marry Temari. I cannot be seen to let Temari marry someone without a title. So the Hokage and the Elders tell Shikamaru he cannot marry someone from another land, he runs off and betrays his whole country for the love of her and of course I, touched by this display of undying devotion, grant him permission. I then convince the Hokage to allow said marriage to go ahead and all the while both countries emerge strong and agreeable to love."

Another beat passed whilst Shikaku tried to stop his head from aching.

"That's an excellent plan," he managed finally.

"It should be," Gaara returned easily. "Your son came up with it. Now we all have to do is run around like idiots whilst they stay in bed together for three weeks. Tell me, Shikaku, will you be returning to Konoha with us all in three days' time?"

After Shikaku had convinced himself not to hug the Kazekage for the relief he'd experienced, he returned to the same door he'd knocked on not too long ago, although it swung open almost as soon as he set foot in front of it.

"You could have a career on the stage," he told the girl before him, still grinning with the glow of her victory.

"I think it was your son who played the main role," she said, stepping aside to let him in and he was pleased to see that the both of them were now out of their stage clothes and into more appropriate attire.

"You couldn't have let me and your mother in on the plan?" Shikaku asked as soon as he laid eyes on his son.

"I wanted to see how stupid you thought I was," Shikamaru droned, throwing himself onto the couch. "Besides, it's a rare occasion that I get to see you so unsettled."

"I was sure you were going to call us out whenever he started going on about his heart," Temari added with a laugh, throwing salt onto his wounds.

"Oh how can you say that, my hearts' darling?" Shikamaru pleaded falsely, whilst Temari cackled in the background. "Don't you know I couldn't live without you?"

"Apparently, I was wrong," Shikaku interrupted their play, surveying the scene with as much disdain as possible. "You're perfect for each other. Now, I think I'll go back to Konoha rather than wait three days in the presence of…this."

Turning on his heel, Shikaku gave them a slight nod before making towards the door.

"Dad, just one question before you go…"

"Mmm?"

"Who told you Mum didn't know?"

* * *

A/N: Small piece of fluff for your entertainment! The Anecdotes are becoming my weekly weekend fanfic outlet, so possibly more to come soon.

Hope you enjoyed!

**REVIEW!**

SP7


	23. To Woo

_Inspired by:_ The dying art of chivalry

* * *

This had got to be the longest she's ever looked at a cup of tea.

That mundane thought was the only one managing to make its way around Temari's head, as she sat in a little not-well-known tea shop positioned in a leafy corner of Konoha.

Her fingers grasped the cup before her and her eyes moved onto the wood table of the booth that they were sitting in.

Anything to avoid looking at him.

Anyone who saw them together in the tea shop would probably think her reactions strange; she hadn't been to Konoha in two years- she hadn't seen him in a year and a half- and there she was, avoiding any interaction with him at all.

It wasn't like her. It's definitely wasn't like him…the way he was behaving.

But then, neither of them were the same people that they were when they first met.

As a teenager, she was cocky and arrogant in front of men- her first meeting with Shikamaru was enough proof to last a lifetime. As a result, they were either crudely demonstrative or complacently laidback with her.

So from her younger years to her elder ones as an adult woman, no one had ever tried to entice her.

There had been men who'd hit on her. There had been men who'd quietly tried to chat her up in a sort of discrete way, afraid of her wrath and her vehement denial of their advances.

But no one had ever done the thing properly. No one had acted like a gentleman; directly told her how they felt about her without trying to win her around with stupid comments about how great Suna, her father, her family were.

No one had ever tried to _woo_ her.

Until now.

And she wasn't reacting to it very well.

Maybe it was because he was the last boy…man…in the world she expected to attempt it. And three years ago, she would have laughed in his face. Three years ago, she would have watched as he cutely attempted to tell her she was pretty and given him a simpering smile in response. Three years ago…he probably wouldn't have been quite as good at it as he was now.

She swallowed. Once, twice…another time. Her throat was very dry and she couldn't take sip of tea or she'd have to look up.

She tried to process how this had happened. How had Shikamaru Nara become a man in the past three years? When had he…grown up? When had they suddenly become equals?

She felt him move across the table from her.

He had leant back.

He was leaning back.

HE WAS LEANING BACK!?

The thought that this was all easy enough for him- that he was finding this so…_fine_…that he was leaning back…it made her angry. Angry enough to look up.

That was a definite mistake, she realised, as she was met with his warm brown eyes and relaxed smile.

"You can't be that surprised," he said finally, regarding her with gentle amusement. "I mean, you show up here after two years in _that_ dress…what did you expect me to do?"

Feeling herself begin to blush, Temari set her jaw and looked the other way.

"Stop it," she said sternly, eyeing the waitress to see if she could call for the bill.

"Stop what?"

"Flirting with me!" she hissed, now turning on him.

He simply smiled more.

"And my dress was fine. It was a party. It was supposed to be nice."

"I disagree," Shikamaru said lowly, as she frowned. "You're selling yourself short. It was more than fine. If you were shooting for nice you passed the mark by about 200 feet…"

"That was cheesy," Temari mumbled, still looking the other way but not failing to notice his full blown smile out of the corner of her eyes.

"I was being honest."

"And anyway, I didn't turn up in that dress to impress you," she continued, doggedly ignoring him. "I…"

"I know you didn't," he interrupted. "Until last night, I doubt you ever thought of me as anything more than a stupid boy who cried in front of you once."

"That hasn't changed," she retorted, trying to sound convincing but knowing her demeanour gave away the lie.

"Fine," Shikamaru went on calmly, now leaning forward to rest on the table, beginning a closeness which alarmed her more than she would have admitted, "if you say so."

He took a sip of tea.

"I want that to change."

"Why?" she asked before she could help herself, knowing that she looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Because I'm not sixteen anymore," he began, and it was now, more than before, that she felt he was making his move. "I was a boy back then. I can see why you would have only laughed at me. I'd have done the same thing. I laugh now when I think of you saving me from the Sound."

"I didn't do that for any reason other than…"

"We both know why you're supposed to have done it," Shikamaru interrupted for a second time, "and maybe that is the reason you did it. But it doesn't change the fact that you enjoyed doing it. After what happened at the chuunin exams, you enjoyed proving yourself again."

She nodded, unsure of where he was going.

"Well," the man opposite her said slowly, "I want to prove myself. I'm not a child anymore. I know what I want and I know that when I do know what I want, I have to go get it."

Temari almost interrupted him, too petrified to hear what he had to say. But he got there before her.

"I want you."

It was a brutal hit and it shocked her into complete silence for at least three minutes.

"You know, if I'd known at sixteen that this was all it took to keep you quiet, I would've said it a lot sooner," Shikamaru said wryly, pouring himself some more tea and continuing on as though he'd merely told her the colour of the sky.

"…Sixteen?" she managed to query.

He smiled that maddeningly attractive smile again.

"You're not serious?" she all but whimpered, fearing the worst.

"Come on," he coaxed gently, "imagine you're fourteen year old boy. You're confronted with an older blonde bombshell that can beat the crap out of you; physically, verbally and mentally…you made an impression," he finished with a casual laugh.

"You're talking nonsense," Temari grumbled, folding her arms and feeling very much fed up of the whole charade. Well, that was what she told herself. "There is no way that you've been…thinking about this since you were fourteen!"

"You're right, I haven't," he acquiesced. "But I've been thinking about you since I was fourteen. Not necessarily in this way…but you've never really left my head. And it was only last year when I realised why that was."

"Nonsense," she mumbled again, feeling herself starting to get angry.

"Why are you finding this so hard to believe?" Shikamaru asked her directly. "You're smart, funny and…"

"I'm going to stop you there, Nara!" she butt in shakily, gripping the table to steady herself. "You can lay off on the romcom stuff, okay? I don't think about you that way."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," Shikamaru replied, not looking at all stumped or perturbed by the news. "Like I said, given our past history I'm not surprised."

"So?" Temari asked in frustration.

"So…I intend to change that," he repeated naturally.

"I'm not some idiot bimbo whose mind changes because some cute guy smiles at her," Temari hissed petulantly. "I'm very flattered that you're interested but I said no. And that's not up for discussion, okay?"

"Not really," the boy declared, watching her nonchalantly. "I fully give you permission not to change your mind, but I don't promise to walk away as though I have."

"Shikamaru, you're not listening," she persisted, only just managing to hold onto her temper. "I don't like you. I'm not attracted to you. I never have been and you pestering me…"

"Then why are you here?"

"…excuse me?"

"Why are you here?"

She blinked for a couple of times, and her mouth stayed open in a stupid fish-like manner.

"It's a simple enough question," he continued as though it were her who was the idiot.

"Because you asked me!" she seethed, returning her voice to its normal tenor when other customers began to watch them.

"I asked you to have tea with me, yes…" Shikamaru agreed, although it sounded as though he was contradicting her.

"You asked me as a friend!"

"Did I?" he queried, in the same infuriatingly knowing tone, as she fervently tried to remember his exact invitation.

"Well, you didn't say it was a date," she battled back quickly, although she couldn't quite remember if he had or hadn't. All she remembered was saying yes. Why had she said yes so quickly? "You didn't say we weren't going as friends," she managed to get in before he opened his mouth again.

He paused to consider this.

"Have we ever been friends?" Shikamaru asked eventually, seemingly serious.

"…No…" Temari replied reluctantly, "but we've never been more than comrades."

The grin was enough to set her off again.

"That was _one_ time!"

His grin widened.

"One kiss. One time, Nara! Big mistake!" she pressed belligerently. "I was drunk," she added to try and take the smirk off his face.

He was still grinning so she went on.

"It meant nothing."

"Okay," Shikamaru said, shrugging his shoulders, once more unmoved by her latest admonishment.

She was a little stumped by his sudden surrender.

"Okay?"

"Okay," he repeated. "I don't believe you that it meant nothing, but if you say so…"

"I do! It did mean nothing. Trust me, I'm not lying," Temari stated, emphatically gesturing with her hands.

"Okay…so do it again."

"What?" she all but shrieked.

"Do it again," he said through a laugh which affected her more than she would have liked to admit. "If it meant nothing, kiss me again. It'll mean nothing again, surely."

"I'm not kissing you again just so you can stick your tongue down my throat," she ground out through narrowed eyes, leaning in on the table to hiss at his effectively.

"Mmmm…that's right. You'd be kissing me again to prove me wrong. I thought you loved doing that."

"Shikamaru…" she sighed, balancing her head in her hands, not really ready to call him his bluff.

"Fine," he said definitely, standing up before her.

"Where are you going? What are you doing?"

"I'm kissing you," he said simply, sliding himself into the booth beside her as she backed into the corner.

"No, you're not," she said firmly, as she moved, pressing herself right up against the bench.

"Yes, I am," Shikamaru contradicted, placing his hand on her upper arm causing her to shiver.

"Nara," she all but pleaded, feeling her resolve weaken. Her heart was starting to beat quickly in her chest and as he slid his warm limbs around her waist, pulled her closer to his chest and his nose nudged up against hers, she couldn't help but think that maybe, she would quite like it if….

She opened her eyes to find he was still right up against her, but not moving an inch.

She swallowed.

"Why did you stop?" she asked before she could help herself.

There was that infuriating grin again.

"Temari…" he drawled gently, his fingers rubbing up and down her side, his eyes staring in to hers, "kiss me."

* * *

She wasn't quite sure what had happened or was happening until she heard…

"Sir, Madam, I'm sorry but this is a family place. You'll have to take your…_activities_ somewhere else."

* * *

A/N: Okay guys, so I know it's been a bajillion years since I've updated. Even the above isn't something I wrote recently; it's been sitting on my comp for about six months and I just re-edited/tweaked it a little bit and decided to post. I'm still working on Remembrance (see profile) and it's starting to get really really dark. Hence, why I decided to post some fluff!

On another note- thank you to everyone who continues to review, rate & favourite/follow my stories. Fanfic is never out of my head; all the time, I come up with little stories- it's just getting the time to write them and write them well.

Hope you all enjoy and I'll do my best to make sure it's not too long before you hear from me again!

**REVIEW!**

SP7


	24. Memento

Inspiration: _personal_

* * *

_'There's nothing so bad for a woman as a man who thinks he's good'_

-Rodger's & Hammerstein

* * *

Theirs was a strange relationship.

There was an energy present and she didn't know how it began. Temari didn't encourage it; she didn't flirt with Shikamaru, she didn't make unduly long amounts of eye contact with him nor did she ever think much about them together…but still, there it was, just the same.

She didn't know when it began either. If it had been there from the moment they'd met or something that developed over time like a habit or a compulsion.

She didn't even know if he felt it.

That was the infuriating thing; if she were ever to confront him about it, would he admit it? Or would he say she had made the whole thing up in her head?

Temari couldn't tell. That thought festered inside her more than the rest. Because even if she didn't want to call him her boyfriend, she didn't want to think that she had invented these thoughts in her head because she was lonely.

When she came back to Konoha after a time away the energy had still been there. It always presented itself between them; this awkward clench would appear in her stomach and she'd be hesitant to meet his eye in case it got any stronger.

But she did meet it, eventually; when he brought up his girlfriend with an odd kind of difficulty, like he had been trying to work it into the conversation ever since she'd arrived.

Temari had been expecting something like this to happen. Shikamaru was a popular boy and given enough time and enough women, eventually he would find someone who fit his 'un-troublesome' criteria.

Shiho was her name.

Temari had heard of the girl but never met her. She had heard she was smart. At least she fit him well, she thought. Better than she did.

After that the energy became tenser, more awkward but again she wondered if it was all on her part; if she was imagining the whole thing.

"She suits you," she had said, after seeing Shiho walking around Konoha with him one morning. It felt odd to watch him around her whenever she was so used to the two of them taking a morning walk.

Shikamaru gave her a look which she couldn't make out. One that almost suggested he didn't think she was sincere.

He nodded and they kept walking towards the Hokage's offices.

She had meant it genuinely. Shiho did suit him.

* * *

Things always became more awkward when they were out in public together, with other people. Friday night was 'after work drinks' night in Konoha and that meant that she had to stand in a bar with him whilst he only ever talked to her.

This night, however, Kiba was also talking to her.

She had to admit it, he was a funny boy. With Kiba, she usually laughed so hard that her throat began to close up. She didn't know if it was his humour or his stupidity but at any rate, when he started to speak, she began to crack up.

She also noticed that Kiba was buying her drinks and she was drinking them.

Temari didn't know what was happening; guys didn't chat her up. She was not that girl. She was the girl that every boy was terrified of; too opinionated, too strong and too independent to ever conform to what they wanted in a girlfriend. To be blunt, she was the exact opposite of Shiho.

But Kiba was buying her drinks and making her laugh…and she was flirting with him.

How much of it she was doing because out of the corner of her eye she could see Shikamaru watching them, Temari wasn't sure.

But when Kiba kissed her, she didn't stop him. It had been a while since she had kissed anyone and even if it was to annoy Shikamaru, she definitely enjoyed kissing him. He was good at it. He held her in all the right ways, pulled her close in a way that made her feel wanted and desirable. To be blunt, he was the exact opposite of Shikamaru. After Kiba had finished kissing her, Temari had no doubt in how he felt about her.

He pulled back, red cheeked and grinning.

"I didn't ever see that happening," he joked lightly, his arm still around her waist.

"Me neither," she breathed honestly, not removing her arms from around his neck.

"Reckon it could happen again?"

She laughed for the fortieth time that evening as she leant in. It was only three hours later that she had noticed Shikamaru had left.

* * *

The next morning when she was supposed to journey back to Suna, Temari's head was sore but her self-esteem felt higher than it had in a few months.

She couldn't admit it before now but it was exhausting liking a boy who didn't like you.

Having someone else actually take an interest was like a refreshing tonic after so many months.

She felt like an idiot schoolgirl for grinning as much as she was when she got ready that morning but she allowed herself to bask in the feeling, not knowing when it might appear again.

She walked outside to find Shikamaru at her door.

Their eyes met and Temari felt the biggest surge of awkwardness yet.

"Why did you kiss him?"

Shikamaru spoke quietly; so quietly that she wondered if he had really meant to speak at all.

"He kissed me," Temari retorted calmly, to which he replied in look only. He was not impressed. "I wanted him to," she added after his expression changed.

Shikamaru gave a small nod.

"What's more, its none of your business," she went on, feeling her anger rise and knowing that she was in danger of yelling at him all the thoughts she had been bundling inside all these years.

"I'm aware," he conceded, not looking at her. "Trust me."

She felt a stab of pain in that moment. His last words told her what she had always suspected but feared; Shikamaru wanted her but not in the right way. He wanted to bring her to bed but not home to his mother. And above all, not only did she know it; he knew it too.

That hurt horrendously.

She must have looked the way she felt because she heard him sigh deeply.

"Do you really need me to say it?"

Her eyes snapped to his.

"Do you really need me to tell you what you already know?"

They looked at each other quietly; the longest they had managed since she had arrived. His eyes seemed to sink into hers and she felt her stomach contract painfully.

She was on the brink of asking him to whenever Kiba appeared over his shoulder.

"I was wondering if you fancied some breakfast?"

Never as grateful to see anyone in her life, Temari pushed past Shikamaru and greeted Kiba with the biggest smile she could manage.

"Definitely."

* * *

"You know I always thought Shikamaru was many things but not a coward."

Kiba brought him up suddenly, just as their tea had arrived causing her to spill some of it onto the table.

Temari didn't know what to say to that. She didn't think he was coward. She thought he was a jerk.

"He's a choirboy," Kiba went on drolly, shuffling the utensils around on the table and watching her carefully.

"Oh?"

"Mmmmm….won't go after what he wants," he said meaningfully, still watching her.

"In these circumstances some people would call that honour," Temari replied, not even bothering to pretend and disappointed that she wasn't being given a proper opportunity to forget about him for a while.

"I think it most people would call him a fool," Kiba bartered back, a slight smile on his lips. "I definitely would."

"Glad to hear it," she answered, now smiling a little herself.

"There are a lot of girls," Kiba started off delicately, "particularly in this village, who seem to be happy with indecisive men messing them about."

"I am not one of them," Temari stated with brutal intent.

"Glad to hear it," Kiba mimicked. "Be the smart girl. Be the one who picks the guy that actually wants you."

* * *

She was still considering his words as they walked towards the gates of Konoha.

Temari wanted to be the smart girl. She wanted to focus on the guy who actually wanted her. There was no doubt Kiba was in every way her kind of guy.

She generally went for the funny types. The loud, cocky ones who were the life of the party. She believed whole-heartedly in the technique of laughing someone into bed. It had worked on her a few times and she had no doubt that a few more evenings with Kiba and he would employ it with relative success.

But Shikamaru confused her. She couldn't be sure if she really liked Kiba or if she only liked him because it gave her a chance to annoy the other boy in her life whom she had no other way of provoking. She wanted time apart from Shikamaru and alone with Kiba to truly understand her feelings but she also had a need for him to know what was happening between her and Kiba.

She wanted to make him jealous. Temari couldn't deny it. She hated the thought that he had rejected her and chosen another girl. She hated the thought that even after all but admitting that he desired her, he was still choosing Shiho. And more than anything, she hated that she could only sit around and let him do it all of his own accord.

Temari felt powerless and her own anger was slipping slowly out of her grasp.

They reached the gates as Kiba continued to talk about everyday things until slowly he came to break.

"I'd like to write to you."

It was so simple, but more than anything it proved how different he was from Shikamaru. So clean, so simple and so direct. He wanted to feel what he was feeling for her. He wanted to stoke it and grow his feelings in tandem with her own.

He did not feel ashamed of his feelings for her. He did not think they were wrong.

She smiled.

"Go ahead," she invited, thinking that no matter what, it was always nice to receive a letter from someone who made you laugh.

"Thanks," Kiba replied cheerfully, stepping a little closer to her as she knew what was coming.

He kissed her somewhat bashfully and with a little less heat than the night before.

"Write back?" he asked, his lips still dusting against hers.

She nodded.

"I will."

With that Kiba walked backwards away from her and with a cheery wave he was gone from her sight.

Still with an unknowingly heavy heart, Temari turned and stepped outside the gates.

She had no sooner stepped over the border than from the tree branches above Shikamaru landed in front of her. Starting she lurched backwards towards the gates but he followed her. Their eyes met again but this time there was no awkwardness although she saw her own shock reflected in his eyes.

He didn't speak, but pressed against her with an unspoken desperation; her body slammed into the wooden gates yet somehow into his as well as he connected their lips. With a rush of breath, he kissed her harder and more passionately than she had ever felt. His hands journeyed from her hair to her face to her hips and then to her back, as he kept trying to pull her closer though there was no more distance to close.

Temari couldn't breathe. She couldn't do anything other than respond to his lips which were so insistent against hers they were almost violent.

She whispered his name in an attempt to pull some lucidity from him but that only allowed for their tongues to meet and another onslaught to begin.

In what she assumed was due his own lack of air, Shikamaru suddenly pulled away from her. He was breathless; his chest was heaving, his cheeks were a vicious shade of red and his eyes seemed to have turned black.

He watched her as she panted against the gates, her own face burning and lips pulsating with heat.

She imagined that they came back to reality at the same time when she realised that her hair ties were completely undone and he saw the state of her clothes.

Shikamaru didn't say anything. He broke the connection between their eyes as his fell to the ground. Slowly he walked past her, leaving her standing there, back towards the city.

Eventually, Temari managed to pick herself up and leave the gates as well.

She heard from Kiba within two weeks.

She didn't hear from Shikamaru.

* * *

Unfortunately, I can't write life as prettily as I can write Shika/Tema :)

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SP7


	25. Need

_Inspired by; Harry Potter_

* * *

The terror has just visibly faded from his eyes. She can tell by the moon glinting in off the white sheets that hang from her balcony.

The brown orbs are no longer wide and strained but tired and filled with concern.

Temari winces every time she tries to move; it makes her feel even more like an injured animal but she can't help it. The pain that runs through her nerves with even the slightest movement is so severe that it's a miracle she doesn't scream.

Shikamaru's eyes flash every time she does and eventually the sounds become too much for him. His hand drifts up and onto her cheek, his thumb rubbing gently over her face. At any other point in time this act of caring would've brought derision from her and caused her embarrassment and anger. But tonight, the sound of his chest rising and falling slowly, his soothing touch and dark gaze lull her into a sleep that she didn't think was possible given the pain.

Temari awakens when the moon is still high and bright, drifting in over their bodies. His eyes are still closed as he breathes deeply, his hand now delicately half-placed on her waist as though scared of causing her anymore pain.

She has lost track of time completely in her haze of drugs and sleep; Shikamaru arrived the day they stretchered her back into Suna, his red and breathless face was the last thing she saw before she passed out.

The next thing she remembers is lying on her side in her own bed with him lying opposite and facing her; those eyes blood-strained and black.

He had put his hand out to touch hers but even that caused her untold alarm and she whimpered in fear. Immediately he had stopped.

The grief that that one thoughtless moment had caused her- as the next moment his eyes had flooded with tears and they had silently tripped down his face. Shikamaru shuffled closer to her body but stayed away physically.

"I'm fine," she croaked, her voice gravelly and it was so obviously untrue that Shikamaru managed a small laugh. "I am," she insisted, her eyes drifting closed once more as sleep overtook her.

Since that day several could have passed. If any nurses or doctors entered the room during that time, she had slept through it. Though each day she awoke she felt slightly better. And each time she opened her eyes she saw his staring back at her.

His ponytail had drifted down to the bottom of his nape, a small beard was starting to grow and Temari was starting to get the impression that he was spending as much time in bed as she was.

"Have you eaten?" she asked one time, when her mind was clear though her voice still sounded awful even to her own ears.

"Shhhh," was the only response she got along with a forehead kiss. "Do you need anything?"

Even though her own eyes were about to drift closed she could feel her stubbornness returning bit by bit; "I need to get up," she breathed.

Shikamaru merely shook his head and murmured a small negative noise.

He hooked his arm around her waist, this time causing her no pain and pulled her closer to his body. He pressed his lips to hers and gently murmured 'sleep' before nudging her nose with his own.

"Don't you have work?"

"I'm where I need to be."

Another bleary set of blinks and a few moments before her head registered that it was still somehow night time. The wind was blowing outside with a violent rage, sand spiralling past the window and she both felt and heard the sandstorm in the air. Grains entered and mixed with her white cotton curtains, blowing and dancing in her room before coming to fall onto the floor.

"How did you do that?" she asked quietly, referring to that fact that mere moments ago, when she had awoken Shikamaru was asleep and whilst she had studied the storm, he had somehow woken up.

"Do you need anything?" he asked once more, merely smirking at her question. But before she even had the chance to answer, Shikamaru produced a bowl of fruit and placed it on the bed between them.

Once more she tried to sit up but once more came the same negative noise he had uttered before and again a hand draped over her waist and pulled her somehow even closer to him. Next he picked up a grape and popped it onto her mouth, smiling when she frowned in indignation.

"I draw the line…" Temari began while chewing, but he shushed her with another grape.

When she had finished the whole bag of grapes, he replaced the bowl behind him.

"Anything else?"

It may have been the sudden rush of sugar but the next moment she passed out.

This time Temari woke up to a Shikamaru that had obviously not slept in a few days. His eyes were worn and greying and she could see that nothing other than adrenaline was keeping him awake. More guilt plagued her as she continued to take in his appearance.

"How long?" she croaked.

"Are you in pain?" he asked tonelessly, his gaze boring through her.

Taking a few moments to assess, she eventually shook her head.

His previously gentle arm gave way to a desperate grab and she travelled the width of the bed in a nanosecond. His left arm cradled her neck, his arm buried into her hair and his head pressed into her collarbone. She could feel the tears as they stained her nightgown.

"5 days," he wept after a while, still not letting go of her.

"I'm sorry," Temari breathed, pressing a kiss to his temple.

"Sorry?" he asked incredulously, pulling back to look at her with his near-desperate eyes. "If you ever say that again…"

Shikamaru didn't tell her what he would do as before he could finish he was kissing her.

She wiped at his eyes, cleaning his face and feeling the stubble along his jawline.

"Do you need anything?" he sniffed, as she pulled the bobble out of his hair and tried to imagine from how greasy it was how long he had spent lying with her.

"Would you believe me if I said sleep?"

He tried to hide it with a chuckle but she could see the worry that flashed through his eyes.

Another quick kiss and she snuggled down into his chest, the ache now dull but still present as the muscles in her legs gave a small spasm.

"Promise me you'll wake up this time," he sighed heavily, his arms enclosing her and holding her tightly.

"Only if you'll let me get up," Temari said airily.

"Not a chance."

The next day he fed her raspberries although how he had managed to find them in Suna at this time of the year she couldn't fathom.

"You definitely didn't have this much time off left last time we talked," she told him between mouthfuls though he didn't look like he had heard her.

"Have any bed sores yet?" Temari went on meaningfully, licking her lips and staring at him purposefully.

"I've got a bit of a headache," Shikamaru said with equal meaning, smirking again.

"So what do we do now?" she asked, finishing up her meal.

"Sleep?"

"Not tired," she replied with a small grin. "And we have this whole bed to ourselves…whatever will we do?"

"We…" Shikamaru strained, reaching behind him, "will read."

Her eyes narrowed as he produced a book.

"What?"

"This is a really good book," he said with a cheesy grin, rolling onto his back, "and I do all the voices."

When she said she wasn't tired she was clearly lying as within a chapter and a half her eyes had closed.

The book lay between them later on as the wind and rain howled outside. It wasn't quite night time yet as the sky was a dusky, deep pink that coloured her floorboards a menacing red.

"I was so angry at you," he whispered, now no longer looking tired but still somehow worn. "Going by yourself when I told you if you'd just given me a few more days, I could have…"

"I'm a kunoichi, not a baby," she replied dryly, not raising her voice but feeling her injured pride leap inside her when he brought the matter up. "They were a four man group- I've taken out more than that by myself before- and they were getting further and further away…'

"One of them was injured, they were travelling slowly- you could have waited…"

"There is no other shinobi or kunoichi that would have decided to wait."

"There is no other shinobi or kunoichi that I give a damn about!" Shikamaru finally yelled, sitting up with such haste that he knocked the book and the bowl flying although he hadn't meant to.

The objects hit the floor with a crash, shattering their argument before it became too heated.

She watched him for a few moments, afraid to say anything that might provoke him again when all she really wanted was to cling to him again.

"You don't have to prove yourself to me," Shikamaru said eventually, sitting up to inspect the damage he had just created, "I thought we had already had this conversation."

"I'm not trying to prove myself," Temari sighed, lifting a hand to rub his back.

"Then what?" he asked, barely looking over his shoulders, those same worn eyes somehow seeming to reach her, "you just don't care if you die?"

She was about to laugh when he turned to face her fully and she could see he was completely serious and waiting for an answer.

"Don't you know what that would do to me?" he whispered, his forehead crinkled and weary.

Temari ignored his protestations when she moved to sit up. Despite the pain she managed it and leant forward to wrap her arms around his neck and head, pressing him to her. She kissed any part of him she could reach, ending with his lips.

"Silly boy," she responded with equal quiet, kissing him again. "You are the reason I come home."

They slept another night and another day; in that time, he produced more food, read her another book and yelled at her again for leaving without him.

"How long have we been here?" she eventually asked him, suddenly aware that she had no idea how many days they had spent in bed.

"…three weeks," he responded, after a quick calculation, smiling when her eyes widened.

"Three weeks?! How have you been…?"

"I've been eating and showering whilst you've slept. Kankuro's also played some shougi with me, so I've kept busy."

"Are you ever planning on going home?" Temari said playfully, looking up at the moon once more and admiring the darkness and the shadows cast across the bed and floor.

"Not for a while," Shikamaru said, intertwining his fingers with her and pulling her into their natural sleeping position. "Do you need anything?"

Smiling at how many times he had asked her that in the past few days, Temari shook her head.

"Nope," she answered, snuggling down into his shoulder. "What about you? Do you need anything?"

He breathed deeply for a few moments, with such density that she thought he had fallen asleep.

"I need you to marry me."

Temari didn't move at all. She was so tired and still recovering that it wasn't a dramatic and emotional moment.

"Yes," she barely whispered into his neck, feeling her eyelids become heavier.

"Good," he said, rubbing her back. "Now go to sleep- I have blackberries for tomorrow morning."

* * *

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